A receptor detects a suitable input, such as light, vibration or pressure. It starts signals that nerve cells can pass along. The brain and spinal cord process those signals. A whole picture or sound does not travel inside a nerve.
The human body · Discover & try
How does a stimulus become information?
Reading level 1 of 5 · EarlyChange
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Stimulus
An input that a receptor can detect.
Neuron
A nerve cell that communicates information.
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See how it works
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A route map, not a complete brain diagram. Moving dots indicate signal progression; they are not objects carried inside nerves.
What to look for
- Light reaches an eye receptor; the nerve carries a cellular signal, not a tiny picture.
- Vibration reaches an ear receptor; signals then travel through a nerve pathway.
- Pressure activates a skin receptor and signals follow a nerve pathway.
Explain what you noticed
A smell molecule reaches a suitable receptor in the nose. What begins next?
Keep this idea: Receptors convert stimuli into signals that the nervous system can process.
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