23 Sensory receptors
Learning Objectives
After reading this section, you should be able to-
- Define sensory receptor.
- Define transduction, perception, sensation, and adaptation.
- Distinguish between tonic and phasic receptors.
- Compare and contrast the types of sensory receptors based on the type of stimulus (i.e., thermoreceptor, photoreceptor, chemoreceptor, baroreceptor, nociceptor [pain receptor], mechanoreceptor).
A major role of sensory receptors is to help us learn about the environment around us, or about the state of our internal environment. Different types of stimuli from varying sources are received and changed into the electrochemical signals of the nervous system. This process is called sensory transduction. This occurs when a stimulus is detected by a receptor which generates a graded potential in a sensory neuron. If strong enough, the graded potential causes the sensory neuron to produce an action potential that is relayed into the central nervous system (CNS), where it is integrated with other sensory information—and sometimes higher cognitive functions—to become a conscious perception of that stimulus. The central integration may then lead to a motor response.
Describing sensory function with the term sensation or perception is a deliberate distinction. Sensation is the activation of sensory receptors at the level of the stimulus, which involves the initial detection of stimuli by sensory receptors, which may not always lead to conscious awareness. Perception, however, involves the brain’s integration and interpretation of sensory information, allowing for meaningful understanding and awareness. However, not all sensations are perceived.
Receptors are the structures (and sometimes whole cells) that detect sensations. A receptor or receptor cell is changed directly by a stimulus. A transmembrane protein receptor is a protein in the cell membrane that mediates a physiological change in a neuron, most often through the opening of ion channels or changes in the cell signaling processes. Some transmembrane receptors are activated by chemicals called ligands. For example, a molecule in food can serve as a ligand for taste receptors. Other transmembrane proteins, which are not accurately called receptors, are sensitive to mechanical or thermal changes. Physical changes in these proteins increase ion flow across the membrane, and can generate a graded potential in the sensory neurons.
Sensory Receptors
Stimuli in the environment activate specialized receptors or receptor cells in the peripheral nervous system. Different types of stimuli are sensed by different types of receptors. Receptor cells can be classified into types on the basis of three different criteria: cell type, position, and function. Receptors can be classified structurally on the basis of cell type and their position in relation to stimuli they sense. They can also be classified functionally on the basis of the transduction of stimuli, or how the mechanical stimulus, light, or chemical changed the cell membrane potential.
Tonic and Phasic Receptors
Tonic and phasic receptors are two fundamental types of sensory receptors that play distinct roles in the perception and processing of sensory information. Tonic receptors are characterized by a sustained response to a constant stimulus, providing continuous information about the presence and intensity of a stimulus over time. Examples include proprioceptors, which inform the brain about the position and tension of muscles. Tonic receptors are crucial for maintaining posture, muscle tone, and overall awareness of the body’s position in space. On the other hand, phasic receptors respond rapidly to changes in a stimulus but quickly adapt and reduce their firing rate if the stimulus remains constant. Sensory adaptation occurs when receptors become less responsive to a constant stimulus over time. This can involve molecular changes such as the desensitization of receptor proteins or alterations in downstream signaling pathways. This adaptation allows the nervous system to filter out constant and unchanging stimuli, focusing attention on novel or changing aspects of the environment. Examples of phasic receptors include those responsible for touch or pressure, aiding in the detection of variations in stimuli. The interplay between tonic and phasic receptors is essential for adaptive and efficient sensory processing, enabling organisms to respond to both dynamic and stable aspects of their surroundings while conserving neural resources.
Structural Receptor Types
The cells that interpret information about the environment can be either (1) a neuron that has a free nerve ending (dendrites) embedded in tissue that would receive a sensation; (2) a neuron that has an encapsulated ending in which the dendrites are encapsulated in connective tissue that enhances their sensitivity; or (3) a specialized receptor cell, which has distinct structural components that interpret a specific type of stimulus (Figure 23.1). The pain and temperature receptors in the dermis of the skin are examples of neurons that have free nerve endings. Also located in the dermis of the skin are lamellated and tactile corpuscles, neurons with encapsulated nerve endings that respond to pressure and touch. The cells in the retina that respond to light stimuli are an example of a specialized receptor cell, a photoreceptor.
Graded potentials in free and encapsulated nerve endings are called generator potentials. When strong enough to reach threshold they can directly trigger an action potential along the axon of the sensory neuron. Action potentials triggered by receptor cells, however, are indirect. Graded potentials in receptor cells are called receptor potentials. These graded potentials cause neurotransmitter to be released onto a sensory neuron, causing a graded post-synaptic potential. If this graded post-synaptic potential is strong enough to reach threshold it will trigger an action potential along the axon of the sensory neuron.
Another way that receptors can be classified is based on their location relative to the stimuli. An exteroceptor is a receptor that is located near a stimulus in the external environment, such as the somatosensory receptors that are located in the skin. An interoceptor is one that detects stimuli from internal organs and tissues, such as the receptors that sense the increase in blood pressure in the aorta or carotid sinus. Finally, a proprioceptor is a receptor located near a moving part of the body, such as a muscle or joint capsule, that interprets the positions of the tissues as they move.
Functional Receptor Types
A third classification of receptors is by how the receptor transduces stimuli into membrane potential changes. Stimuli are of three general types. Some stimuli are ions and macromolecules that affect transmembrane receptor proteins by binding or by directly diffusing across the cell membrane. Some stimuli are physical variations in the environment that affect receptor cell membrane potentials. Other stimuli include the electromagnetic radiation from visible light. For humans, the only electromagnetic energy that is perceived by our eyes is visible light. Some other organisms have receptors that humans lack, such as the heat sensors of snakes, the ultraviolet light sensors of bees, or magnetic receptors in migratory birds.
Receptor cells can be further categorized on the basis of the type of stimuli they transduce. Chemoreceptors detect chemical stimuli, such as a chemicals that lead to the sense of smell. Osmoreceptors respond to solute concentrations of body fluids. Pain is primarily a chemical and sometimes mechanical sense that interprets the presence of chemicals from tissue damage, or intense mechanical stimuli, through a nociceptor. Physical stimuli, such as pressure and vibration, as well as the sensation of sound and body position (balance), are interpreted through a mechanoreceptor. Another physical stimulus that has its own type of receptor is temperature, which is sensed through a thermoreceptor. A thermoreceptor may be sensitive to temperatures above (heat) or below (cold) normal body temperature.
Sensory Modalities
Ask anyone what the senses are, and they are likely to list the five major senses—taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight. However, these are not all of the senses. The most obvious omission from this list is balance. Also, what is referred to simply as touch can be further subdivided into pressure, vibration, stretch, and hair-follicle position, on the basis of the type of mechanoreceptors that perceive these touch sensations. Other overlooked senses include temperature perception by thermoreceptors and pain perception by nociceptors.
Within the realm of physiology, senses can be classified as either general or special. A general sense is one that is distributed throughout the body and has receptor cells within the structures of other organs. Mechanoreceptors in the skin, muscles, or the walls of blood vessels are examples of this type. General senses often contribute to the sense of touch, as described above, or to proprioception (body position) and kinesthesia (body movement), or to a visceral sense, which is most important to autonomic functions. A special sense is one that has a specific organ devoted to it, namely the eye, inner ear, tongue, or nose.
Each of the senses is referred to as a sensory modality. Modality refers to the way that information is encoded into a perception. The main sensory modalities can be described on the basis of how each stimulus is transduced and perceived. The chemical senses include taste and smell. The general sense that is usually referred to as touch includes chemical sensation in the form of nociception, or pain. Pressure, vibration, muscle stretch, and the movement of hair by an external stimulus, are all sensed by mechanoreceptors and perceived as touch or proprioception. Hearing and balance are also sensed by mechanoreceptors. Finally, vision involves the activation of photoreceptors, which detect changes in light, and convert them into electrical signals that can be understood by the brain..
Listing all the different sensory modalities, which can number as many as 17, involves separating the five major senses into more specific categories, or submodalities, of the larger sense. An individual sensory modality represents the sensation of a specific type of stimulus. For example, the general sense of touch, which is known as somatosensation, can be separated into light pressure, deep pressure, vibration, itch, pain, temperature, or hair movement.
Adapted from Anatomy & Physiology by Lindsay M. Biga et al, shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, chapter 13.
the conversion of signals from one form of energy to another
a protein in the cell membrane that mediates a physiological change in a neuron
the conversion of one form of energy to another
sensory receptors characterized by a sustained response to a constant stimulus, providing continuous information about the presence and intensity of a stimulus over time
sensory receptors that rapidly respond and adapt to changes in stimulus presence and intensity
an afferent nerve fiber that is not specific in the information that it receives to send to a sensory neuron
a sensory nerve ending that is surrounding by connective tissue, making it more sensitive to stimuli
a cell that has distinct structural components that interpret a specific type of stimulus
sensory receptors that respond to light waves
small, short lasting changes in membrane potential
a sensory receptor located near a stimulus in the external environment
a sensory receptors that senses stimuli from internal organs and tissues
a sensory receptor located near a moving part of the body that interprets tissue position with movement
sensory receptors responsible for responding to chemical stimuli
sensory receptors that detect solute concentration in body fluids
sensory receptors that respond to pain
sensory receptors that detect physical stimuli, sound, and body position
sensory receptors that detect temperature
a sense in which for receptors are distributed throughout the body
body position
body movement
bodily signals from the viscera
senses that have receptors designated to specific organs
an aspect of a stimulus that is perceived
a specific sense that is perceived by the body
the general sensation of touch
