How Sensory Adaptation Works

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDefinitionCausesExamplesSensory Adaptation vs. Habituation

Table of ContentsView All

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Table of Contents

Definition

Causes

Examples

Sensory Adaptation vs. Habituation

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Imagine that you just walked into your favorite Italian restaurant. The delicious smell of garlic and tomatoes is almost overwhelming when you first walk through the door. You sit down to wait for a table, and after a few minutes, the scents dissipate until you barely notice them. This is an example of sensory adaptation.

Read on to learn more about sensory adaptation and how it works. We also explore examples of sensory adaptation and how it differs from habituation.

What Is Sensory Adaptation?

Sensory adaptation is a reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it.While sensory adaptation reduces our awareness of a stimulus, it helps free up ourattentionand resources to attend to other stimuli in our environment.

All five senses can experience sensory adaptation. Our senses are constantly adjusting to what’s around us, as well as to us individually and what we are experiencing, such as aging or disease. It is important to note that sensory adaptation does not occur with pain perception.

Causes of Sensory Adaptation

Sensory adaptation, also known asneural adaptation, occurs due to changes in the neural receptor cells that receive and process sensory information. Perception is how we recognize and interpret what is coming in through our senses. Research suggests that sensory adaptation occurs within the multiple stages ofperceptual processing.

This adaptive change can occur slowly or quickly. Fast adaptation happens very quickly, in the span of milliseconds. Slow sensory adaptation can occur over minutes, hours, or even days.Some evidence suggests that repeated exposure to stimuli may allow people to “learn” how to adapt faster to the change.

Mindful MomentNeed a breather? Take this free9-minute meditation focused on awakening your senses—or choose from ourguided meditation libraryto find another one that will help you feel your best.

Mindful Moment

Need a breather? Take this free9-minute meditation focused on awakening your senses—or choose from ourguided meditation libraryto find another one that will help you feel your best.

Since constant exposure to a sensory stimulus reduces our sensitivity, we canshift our attentionto other things in our environment rather than focusing on one overwhelming stimulus.

Examples of Sensory Adaptation

Here are some more examples of the types of sensory adaptation that happen in real life and affect different senses.

Even hand-eye coordination adjusts when necessary. For instance, if you put on goggles that make everything appear to be a little off and try to throw a ball at an object, your sensory adaptation will eventually take over, and you’ll adjust enough to hit the target.

Sensory adaptation and habituation both involve reduced attention to a stimulus, but the two concepts have important differences.

Sensory adaptation is an automatic, involuntary process that involves becoming less sensitive to sensory stimulationat the cellular level.

Habituation is a phenomenon involving a decrease in the perceptual experience when exposed to the same sensory stimuli over time. In other words, perception is the psychological result of the cellular process that occurs when our senses are stimulated. As our senses adapt to familiar stimuli, our perception and experience will change, or habituate.

While habituation may occur without much thought, we are often aware that something we once enjoyed no longer has the same effect.Or, vice versa, something that once bothered us, is long forgotten. Some examples are below:

Hedonic Adaption and How It Impacts Our Relationships

Sensory AdaptationOccurs in response to continuous exposureAffects sensory receptors in the brain and peripheral nervous systemOccurs involuntarily and unconsciouslyHabituationOccurs in response to frequently repeated exposuresReduced perception of the stimuliWe are conscious of the change in effect

Sensory AdaptationOccurs in response to continuous exposureAffects sensory receptors in the brain and peripheral nervous systemOccurs involuntarily and unconsciously

Occurs in response to continuous exposure

Affects sensory receptors in the brain and peripheral nervous system

Occurs involuntarily and unconsciously

HabituationOccurs in response to frequently repeated exposuresReduced perception of the stimuliWe are conscious of the change in effect

Occurs in response to frequently repeated exposures

Reduced perception of the stimuli

We are conscious of the change in effect

A Word From Verywell

If you’ve heard the term “nose blind,” you’ve heard of sensory adaption; it’s the same thing. (But it’s different from anosmia, or the inability to smell.) You also might notice that when you’re away from a smell or a sound for a while, such as when you go on vacation and then return to your home, you notice it again. It will probably not take much time for you to adapt to the sensory inputs of your environment and go “blind” to them once again.

New Research Uncovers Why We All See the World So Differently

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Chung S, Li X, Nelson SB.Short-term depression at thalamocortical synapses contributes to rapid adaptation of cortical sensory responses in vivo.Neuron. 2002;34(3):437-446. doi:10.1016/S0896-6273(02)00659-1

Webster MA.Evolving concepts of sensory adaptation.F1000 Biol Rep. 2012;4:21. doi:10.3410/B4-21

Gepshtein S, Lesmes LA, Albright TD.Sensory adaptation as optimal resource allocation.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013;110(11):4368-4373. doi:10.1073/pnas.1204109110

Coon D, Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior, 12th ed.Wadsworth, Cengage Learning; 2010.

Pellegrino R, Sinding C, de Wijk RA, Hummel T.Habituation and adaptation to odors in humans.Physiol Behav. 2017;177:13-19. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.04.006

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