A major role of sensory receptors is to help us learn about the environment around us, or about the state of our internal environment. The stimulus causes the sensory cell to produce an action potential that is relayed into the central nervous system (CNS), where it is integrated with other sensory information—or sometimes higher cognitive…

Describing sensory function with the term sensation or perception is a deliberate distinction. Sensation is the activation of sensory receptor cells at the level of the stimulus.

receptor cell — cell that transduces environmental stimuli into neural signals. term sensation or perception — a deliberate distinction. capsaicin — molecule that activates nociceptors by interacting with a temperature-sensitive ion channel and is the basis for “hot” sensations in spicy food. cochlear duct — space within the auditory portion of the inner ear that contains the organ of Corti and is adjacent to the scala tympani and scala vestibuli on either side.

Be able to describe different types of sensory receptors; describe the structures responsible for the special senses of taste, smell, hearing, balance, and vision; distinguish how different tastes are transduced.