Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded receptor potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are located in the dorsal ganglia of the spinal cord.
The sensory information travels on the afferent nerve fibers in a sensory nerve, to the brain via the spinal cord. The stimulus can come from exteroreceptors outside the body, for example those that detect light and sound, or from interoreceptors inside the body, for example those that are responsive to blood pressure or the sense of body position.
== Types and function ==
Different types of sensory neurons have different sensory receptors that respond to different kinds of stimuli. There are at least six external and two internal sensory receptors:
Information coming from the sensory neurons in the head enters the central nervous system (CNS) through cranial nerves. Information from the sensory neurons below the head enters the spinal cord and passes towards the brain through the 31 spinal nerves. The sensory information traveling through the spinal cord follows well-defined pathways. The nervous system codes the differences among the sensations in terms of which cells are active.
A sensory receptor's adequate stimulus is the stimulus modality for which it possesses the adequate sensory transduction apparatus. Adequate stimulus can be used to classify sensory receptors:
Baroreceptors respond to pressure in blood vessels
Chemoreceptors respond to chemical stimuli
Electromagnetic radiation receptors respond to electromagnetic radiation
Infrared receptors respond to infrared radiation
Photoreceptors respond to visible light
Ultraviolet receptors respond to ultraviolet radiation
Electroreceptors respond to electric fields
Ampullae of Lorenzini respond to electric fields, salinity, and to temperature, but function primarily as electroreceptors
Hydroreceptors respond to changes in humidity
Magnetoreceptors respond to magnetic fields
Mechanoreceptors respond to mechanical stress or mechanical strain
Nociceptors respond to damage, or threat of damage, to body tissues, leading (often but not always) to pain perception
Osmoreceptors respond to the osmolarity of fluids (such as in the hypothalamus)
Proprioceptors provide the sense of position
Thermoreceptors respond to temperature, either heat, cold or both
Sensory receptors can be classified by location:
Cutaneous receptors are sensory receptors found in the dermis or epidermis.
Cette page est générée automatiquement et peut contenir des informations qui ne sont pas correctes, complètes, à jour ou pertinentes par rapport à votre recherche. Il en va de même pour toutes les autres pages de ce site. Veillez à vérifier les informations auprès des sources officielles de l'EPFL.
The course introduces students to a synthesis of modern neuroscience and state-of-the-art data management, modelling and computing technologies with a focus on the biophysical level.
The course "Systems Neuroscience" explores neural circuits and networks to understand how groups of neurons process information and generate behavior. It integrates techniques from neurophysiology, an
The course gives (1) a review of different types of numerical models of control of locomotion and movement in animals, (2) a presentation of different techniques for designing models, and (3) an analy
Understanding the brain requires an integrated understanding of different scales of organisation of the brain. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) will take the you through the latest data, models
Understanding the brain requires an integrated understanding of different scales of organisation of the brain. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) will take the you through the latest data, models
La moelle spinale (selon la nouvelle nomenclature), ou moelle épinière (dans l’ancienne nomenclature), désigne la partie du système nerveux central qui prolonge la moelle allongée appartenant au tronc cérébral. Elle est contenue dans le canal rachidien (canal formé par la superposition des foramens vertébraux), qui la soutient et la protège. Elle est constituée de neurones et de cellules gliales. Sa fonction principale est la transmission des messages nerveux entre le cerveau et le reste du corps.
In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the physical or chemical structure of an organism's internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to detect external stimuli, so that an appropriate reaction can be made, is called sensitivity (excitability). Sensory receptors can receive information from outside the body, as in touch receptors found in the skin or light receptors in the eye, as well as from inside the body, as in chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors.
La transduction sensorielle est l'étape de codage des informations du monde extérieur par des récepteurs sensoriels. C'est une interface entre une multitude de paramètres physiques ou chimiques en une seule écriture, celle de l'influx nerveux. Dans le cadre de deux sensibilités, la sensibilité cutanée et la sensibilité viscérale, les scientifiques en neurosciences identifient des canaux ioniques qui sont nécessaires à la transduction et au codage neuronal des stimulations qui parviennent à la peau et à la muqueuse digestive.
Nerve injuries cause permanent neurological disability due to limited axonal regeneration. Injury-dependent and-independent mechanisms have provided important insight into neuronal regeneration, however, common denominators underpinning regeneration remain ...
Cambridge2023
, , ,
The temporal variability of the thalamus in functional networks may provide valuable insights into the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. To address the complexity of the role of the thalamic nuclei in psychosis, we introduced micro-co-activation patterns ( ...
Preventing the misfolding or aggregation of TDP-43 is the most actively pursued disease-modifying strategy to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. In our work, we provide proof of concept that native state stabili ...