BRAINCAKESensory Receptors
A sensory receptor is a cell, or group of cells, that detects a stimulus. Receptors are transducers: they convert the energy of a stimulus into the electrical energy of a nerve impulse.
Each type of receptor is specific to one type of stimulus:
• photoreceptors detect light (rods and cones in the eye)
• mechanoreceptors detect pressure, touch or movement (for example, Pacinian corpuscles in the skin)
• chemoreceptors detect chemicals (for example, taste buds, and carbon dioxide receptors in the carotid bodies)
• thermoreceptors detect temperature
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