sensory neurons
Body's input wires
Sensory neurons are nerve cells that transmit signals from sensory receptors to the central nervous system.
They carry information about touch, temperature, pain, sound, light, taste, and smell from the body's periphery to the brain and spinal cord for processing.
Also called afferent neurons, they form the input side of the nervous system's communication network.
Perceiving through physical contact
- visionAbility to see
- hearingPerceiving sound waves
- tasteFlavor perception ability
- smellOlfactory perception
pain · temperature · pressure · vibration · proprioception · tactile · olfactory · gustatory
Conveying toward central point
- stimulusWhat prompts a reaction
- transductionSignal or energy transformation
- impulseSudden urge to act
- excitationStimulation of response
depolarization · signal · activation · inhibition · modulation · nerve impulse · threshold · adaptation
Neuron's signal-sending projection
- dendriteNeuron's input branch
- somaBodily cells, excluding gametes
- synapseNerve signal crossing point
- myelin sheathLipid layer around axons
node of Ranvier · receptor · action potential · neurotransmitter · vesicle · cytoskeleton · mechanoreceptor · thermoreceptor
Act of finding something
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- localizationAdapting for specific markets
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
acuity · resolution · recognition · integration · reflex arc · feedback
Sensory nerve cell cluster
- spinal cordBrain's extension through vertebrae
- peripheral nervous systemNerves outside brain, cord
- cranial nervesTwelve brainstem-emerging neural pairs
- thalamusBrain's signal switchboard
brainstem · dermatome · nerve fiber · ganglion · spinothalamic tract
touch
Perceiving through physical contact
smell · pain · temperature · pressure · vibration · proprioception · tactile · olfactory · gustatory · auditory
afferent
Conveying toward central point
- stimulusWhat prompts a reaction
- transductionSignal or energy transformation
- impulseSudden urge to act
excitation · depolarization · signal · activation · inhibition · modulation · nerve impulse · threshold · adaptation · desensitization
axon
Neuron's signal-sending projection
myelin sheath · node of Ranvier · receptor · action potential · neurotransmitter · vesicle · cytoskeleton · mechanoreceptor · thermoreceptor · photoreceptor
detection
Act of finding something
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- localizationAdapting for specific markets
adaptation · acuity · resolution · recognition · integration · reflex arc · feedback
dorsal root ganglion
Sensory nerve cell cluster
- spinal cordBrain's extension through vertebrae
- peripheral nervous systemNerves outside brain, cord
- cranial nervesTwelve brainstem-emerging neural pairs
thalamus · brainstem · dermatome · nerve fiber · ganglion · spinothalamic tract
- neuronsinterneurons
- sensessight, smell, taste, hearing, touch
- nervous systembrain, nerves, spinal cord, axon, dendrite
- neuroscienceMRI, brain, synapses, dendrite, neurotransmitters
- neurodevelopmentneurogenesis, neuroblast, neuroblasts, brain development, myelination
- sensory systemschemoreception, photoreception, proprioception, olfaction, gustation
sense, sensitive, senses, sensation, sensitivity, senseless, sensory, neural, neuron