photoreceptor

(noun)

A specialized neuron able to detect and react to light. Includes both cones (daytime and color) and rods (nighttime).

Related Terms

Examples of photoreceptor in the following topics:

  • Vision: The Visual System, the Eye, and Color Vision

    • Visual reception occurs at the retina where photoreceptor cells called cones and rods give an image color and shadow.
    • Photoreceptor cells found in this region have the specialized capability of phototransduction, or the ability to convert light into electrical signals.
    • There are two types of these photoreceptor cells: rods, which are responsible for scotopic vision (night vision),  and cones, which are responsible for photopic vision (daytime vision).

  • Perceiving Depth, Distance, and Size

    • Visual stimuli enter as light through the photoreceptors in the retina, where they are changed into neural impulses.

  • Circadian Rhythms

    • The retina of the eye contains photoreceptors (rods for seeing at night, and cones for distinguishing colors), which are used for conventional vision.