Sensory nerve

A sensory nerve is a nerve that carries sensory information toward the central nervous system (CNS). It is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of afferent nerve fibers (the axons of sensory neurons) in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). These fibers link sensory receptors on the body surface or in the tissues to relevant processing circuits in the CNS. Sensory nerves are often paired with motor nerves, which are bundles of efferent nerve fibers that travel from the CNS to the PNS. Stimuli cause nerve impulses in the receptors and alter the potentials, which is known as sensory transduction.

Input into the CNS

Types of Sensory Receptors

For a signal to be sent down the sensory nerve, it must first be transduced from an external stimulus into action potential. This occurs at the site of the sensory receptors. There are different kinds of sensory receptors that respond to different stimuli. These sensory receptors include chemorecptors, photoreceptors, mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors. The different receptors respond to the different stimuli exist and transduce the energies into action potentials that are generated at the sensory neuron.