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. Sensory receptors and neural circuits encode information rather than transporting a miniature copy of the stimulus. Electrical signals propagate along neurons, while chemical neurotransmission commonly connects cells at synapses. Processing involves distributed networks in the brain and spinal cord. This route diagram simplifies that organisation; signal dots indicate information flow, not literal objects moving through nerves.
The human body · Discover & try
How does a stimulus become information?
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Stimulus
An input that a receptor can detect.
Neuron
A nerve cell that communicates information.
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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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