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There is a question in one of Khan Academy's Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior passages (the passage titled "Somatosensory effects of Temple Grandin’s squeeze box on hypersensitivity") that I just cannot figure out the reasoning for.
The question asks, "Which mechanoreceptors would likely fire when the squeeze box is first engaged and touching the child’s body and when pressure is released?" and the correct answer is "Meissner corpuscle and Pacinian corpuscle."
I get why the Pacinian corpuscle would be fired when pressure is released (as it is a phasic receptor, meaning it fires only at the onset and offset of a stimulus); however, why would the Meissner corpuscle be the first to fire (as opposed to, say, a Merkel disk)? Both the Merkel disk and the Meissner corpuscle respond to "light" or "fine" touch, correct? The Meissner corpuscle is phasic/very fast adapting, while the Merkel disk is tonic/slow adapting... But shouldn't both phasic and tonic receptors respond just as quickly (and then the phasic receptor stop firing after the initial response)? So, then, what is the reasoning behind the Meissner corpuscle being the one to fire when the squeeze box is first engaged in this situation?
The question asks, "Which mechanoreceptors would likely fire when the squeeze box is first engaged and touching the child’s body and when pressure is released?" and the correct answer is "Meissner corpuscle and Pacinian corpuscle."
I get why the Pacinian corpuscle would be fired when pressure is released (as it is a phasic receptor, meaning it fires only at the onset and offset of a stimulus); however, why would the Meissner corpuscle be the first to fire (as opposed to, say, a Merkel disk)? Both the Merkel disk and the Meissner corpuscle respond to "light" or "fine" touch, correct? The Meissner corpuscle is phasic/very fast adapting, while the Merkel disk is tonic/slow adapting... But shouldn't both phasic and tonic receptors respond just as quickly (and then the phasic receptor stop firing after the initial response)? So, then, what is the reasoning behind the Meissner corpuscle being the one to fire when the squeeze box is first engaged in this situation?
