![]() During touch, mechanoreceptors in the skin and other tissues respond to variations in pressure. During smell, olfactory receptors recognize molecular features of wafting odors. The cells that interpret information about the environment can be either (1) a neuron that has a free nerve ending, with dendrites embedded in tissue that would receive a sensation (2) a neuron that has an encapsulated ending in which the sensory nerve endings are covered in. During taste, sensory neurons in our taste buds detect chemical qualities of our foods including sweetness, bitterness, sourness, saltiness, and umami (savory taste). The first structural classification of sensory receptors is based on the cell type. ![]() During hearing, mechanoreceptors in hair cells of the inner ear detect vibrations conducted from the eardrum. During vision, rod and cone photoreceptors respond to light intensity and color. Sensory receptors perform countless functions in our bodies. For example, hygroreceptors that respond to changes in humidity and osmoreceptors that respond to the osmolarity of fluids may do so via a mechanosensory mechanism or may detect a chemical characteristic of the environment. In some cases, the mechanism of action for a receptor is not clear. Broadly, sensory receptors respond to one of four primary stimuli:Ī schematic of the classes of sensory receptors: Sensory receptor cells differ in terms of morphology, location, and stimulus.Īll sensory receptors rely on one of these four capacities to detect changes in the environment, but may be tuned to detect specific characteristics of each to perform a specific sensory function. Sensory receptors can be classified by the type of stimulus that generates a response in the receptor. baroreceptor: A nerve ending that is sensitive to changes in blood pressure.mechanoreceptor: Any receptor that provides an organism with information about mechanical changes in its environment such as movement, tension, and pressure. ![]()
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