The Biophysics of Sensation—General

In this chapter, the physiology of human sensation, the processes by which the human body detects and interprets external stimuli, is examined. Sensory receptors located throughout the body are responsible for converting various physical stimuli, such as light, sound, temperature, and pressure, into electrical signals that can be processed by the nervous system. Each sensory modality has specialised receptors and pathways that transmit information to the brain. Vision relies on the eyes and the processing of light by photoreceptor cells in the retina, while touch and temperature sensations are mediated by a wide array of mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors in the skin. Taste and smell, in turn, are driven by chemoreceptors that respond to specific molecules in our environment.