ingerhatás

Ingerhatás is a term used in physiology and psychology to describe the effect produced by a stimulus on a living system. It refers to how external or internal stimuli elicit responses in sensory receptors and neural pathways, and how the strength, duration, and quality of the stimulus shape the observable reaction.

In sensory biology, receptors transduce physical or chemical energy into neural signals. The magnitude and pattern of the response depend on the stimulus intensity and the properties of the receptor, and are coded in firing rate, response duration, and the recruitment of additional receptors. The concept emphasizes the relationship between a physical event and its neural representation.

Key related ideas include thresholds and adaptation. The absolute threshold is the smallest stimulus detectable by an organism, while the differential threshold (just noticeable difference) describes the smallest detectable change in a stimulus. Sensory adaptation reduces responsiveness to constant stimuli, changing the ingereffekt over time.

Examples span senses: light intensity affecting retinal photoreceptors, mechanical pressure on skin, sound waves on the inner ear, and chemical stimuli in taste and smell. In psychology and psychophysics, the study of ingereffekt informs models of stimulus–response relationships, including relations between physical magnitude and perceived intensity.

See also: Stimulus, Sensory receptor, Transduction, Psychophysics.