A receptor potential, also known as a generator potential, a type of graded potential, is the transmembrane potential difference produced by activation of a

sensory receptor Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded receptor potentials. This process is called sensory transduc ...

. A receptor potential is often produced by

sensory transduction In physiology, transduction is the translation of arriving stimulus into an action potential by a sensory receptor. It begins when stimulus changes the membrane potential of a sensory receptor. A sensory receptor converts the energy in a stimulu ...

. It is generally a depolarizing event resulting from inward current flow. The influx of current will often bring the

membrane potential Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. It equals the interior potential minus the exterior potential. This is th ...

of the sensory receptor towards the threshold for triggering an

action potential An action potential (also known as a nerve impulse or "spike" when in a neuron) is a series of quick changes in voltage across a cell membrane. An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific Cell (biology), cell rapidly ri ...

. Receptor potential can work to trigger an action potential either within the same

neuron A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...

or on an adjacent cell. Within the same neuron, a receptor potential can cause local current to flow to a region capable of generating an action potential by opening voltage-gated ion channels. A receptor potential can also cause the release of

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a Chemical synapse, synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neurotra ...

s from one cell that will act on another cell, generating an action potential in the second cell. The magnitude of the receptor potential determines the frequency with which

s are generated and is controlled by adaptation, stimulus strength, and temporal summation of successive receptor potentials. Receptor potential relies on receptor sensitivity which can adapt slowly, resulting in a slowly decaying receptor potential or rapidly, resulting in a quickly generated but shorter-lasting receptor potential. An example of a receptor potential is in a

taste bud Taste buds are clusters of taste receptor cells, which are also known as gustatory cells. The taste receptors are located around the small structures known as papillae found on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus, ...

, where taste is converted into an electrical signal sent to the brain. When stimulated, the taste bud triggers the release of neurotransmitters through

exocytosis Exocytosis is a term for the active transport process that transports large molecules from cell to the extracellular area. Hormones, proteins and neurotransmitters are examples of large molecules that can be transported out of the cell. Exocytosis ...

synaptic vesicle In a neuron, synaptic vesicles (or neurotransmitter vesicles) store various neurotransmitters that are exocytosis, released at the chemical synapse, synapse. The release is regulated by a voltage-dependent calcium channel. Vesicle (biology), Ves ...

s from the

presynaptic In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending o ...

membrane. The neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the

synaptic cleft Chemical synapses are biological junctions through which neurons' signals can be sent to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in neuromuscular junction, muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form biological neural ...

to the postsynaptic membrane of the primary sensory neuron, where they elicit an

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Receptor Potential Receptors Electrophysiology Graded potentials

See also

References