Recording-2025-03-13T16:01:10.699Z

Sensory Receptors

• Sensory receptors are specialized cells responsible for detecting various stimuli from the environment.

Types of Sensory Receptors

• Mechanoreceptors: Detect touch, pressure, stretch, and vibration.

• Photoreceptors: Include rods and cones in the eye that allow vision.

• Proprioceptors: Located throughout the body; monitor body position and movement.

• Hair Cells: Located in the inner ear; responsible for hearing and equilibrium.

Function of Receptors

• Receptors must detect a strong enough stimulus to respond and generate an impulse.

• For instance, cilia in the inner ear move in response to stimuli, helping to determine changes in body position.

Sensory Adaptation

• Definition: The process by which sensory receptors become less responsive to a constant, unchanging stimulus.

• Example: Continuous exposure to an unimportant stimulus leads to decreased sensitivity.

• Exception: Pain receptors (nociceptors) do not adapt, leading to persistent sensations of pain, especially in chronic pain conditions, where individuals continually experience the discomfort.