Receptors are nerve endings in your body which react to changes and stimuli and make your body respond in a particular way.
[technical]
...the information receptors in our brain.
receptor in British English
(rɪˈsɛptə)
noun
1. physiology
a sensory nerve ending that changes specific stimuli into nerve impulses
2.
any of various devices that receive information, signals, etc
receptor in American English
(rɪˈsɛptər)
noun
1.
a receiver (in various senses)
2. Biochemistry
any of a group of substances, mainly proteins, found esp. on the surface of a cell, that combine with specific molecules, hormones, antibodies, drugs, viruses, etc.
3. Physiology
a nerve ending or group of nerve endings specialized for the reception of stimuli; sense organ
Word origin
ME receptour < OFr < L receptor < receptus: see receipt
Examples of 'receptor' in a sentence
receptor
Social interactions trigger positive emotions when endorphins bind to receptors in the brain.
The Sun (2016)
Another possibility is that some individuals have fewer dopamine receptors than others.
Claudia Hammond EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER: A Journey Through the Science of Feelings (2005)
And they are now working on a treatment to increase these receptors before pain gets too bad.
The Sun (2015)
Their molecular structures are somewhat similar to those of oestrogen and they have the potential to occupy oestrogen receptors in your cells.
Colette Harris, With Theresa Cheung PCOS DIET BOOK: How you can use the nutritional approach to deal with polycysticovary syndrome (2002)
Tests showed it triggered pain receptors in the gut, which limits production of the danger protein.
The Sun (2014)
BELIEVE it or not, taste receptors give clues about how fertile you are.
The Sun (2014)
In the year 2000, taste receptors were discovered on the tongue that detect this chemical.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
A chemical in the berry attaches itself to your taste receptors and changes your reaction to the food you're eating.
The Sun (2015)
A key element has been identified as a group of pleasure sensors deep in the brain known as the dopamine D2 receptors.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Wheat gluten can also attach to receptors in the brain, which messes with brain chemistry, making people hungrier and making wheat addictive.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We now know men have more temperature receptors in our brains, so when our temperature rises during flu, we feel the burn that much worse.
The Sun (2013)
A new happy medium is reached between the number of LDL receptors in the body and the concentration of serum cholesterol.
Pantano, James A. (MD) Living with Angina (1991)
All related terms of 'receptor'
beta receptor
a receptor , found on the surface of some cells of the sympathetic nervous system, that is stimulated by certain adrenergic substances: such stimulation results in certain physiological responses , such as acceleration of the action of the heart and dilatation of the arteries supplying heart and skeletal muscles
alpha receptor
a receptor , found on the surface of some cells of the sympathetic nervous system, that is stimulated by adrenergic substances resulting in constriction of blood vessels and contraction of most smooth muscle
ionotropic receptor
a receptor that functions directly by opening ion channels that enable specific ions to stream in an out of the cell
metabotropic receptor
an indirect receptor which initiates an intracellular biochemical cascade after it is triggered by an agonistic ligand
angiotensin receptor blocker
any of a class of drugs that block the uptake of angiotensin : used in the treatment of high blood pressure
dopamine receptor agonist
A dopamine receptor agonist is any compound that activates dopamine receptors when dopamine is not present .
serotonin receptor agonist
A serotonin receptor agonist is any compound that activates serotonin receptors when serotonin is not present .
serotonin receptor antagonist
A serotonin receptor antagonist is a drug that inhibits the action of serotonin receptors.