Summary
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1.
Mechanoreceptors in the trigeminal area of ducks and pigeons have been studied with regard to the dependence of the response to rectangular mechanical stimuli on skin temperature. Single unit activity was recorded from peripheral branches of the mandibular nerve.
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2.
The response to a standard mechanical stimulus has been studied in the temperature range 10 ° to 50 °C. In pigeons the response/stimulus increased with increasing temperature up to 40 °C; above 40 °C there was either a further slight increase or a decrease in response. In ducks the response/stimulus reached maximal values between 20 ° and 30 °C; at 40 °C the response was greatly reduced in each case.
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Adaptation to the mechanical stimulus was nearly independent of temperature in both slowly and relative rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors in pigeons. The relative rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors in ducks showed a slight increase of adaptation with increasing temperature, i.e., the impulse frequency declined more rapidly at higher temperatures.
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Necker, R. Dependence of mechanoreceptor activity on skin temperature in sauropsids. J. Comp. Physiol. 92, 75–83 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00696528
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00696528