(sensation) The process in which specialized SENSORY RECEPTOR CELLS transduce peripheral stimuli (physical or chemical) into NERVE IMPULSES which are then transmitted to the various sensory centers in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.

(sensation) Transduction of stimuli from outside the body and those within the body into nerve impulses by receptors, and the transmission of these impulses by afferent neurons to the cerebral cortex.

(sensory perception) The series of events required for an organism to receive a sensory stimulus, convert it to a molecular signal, and recognize and characterize the signal. This is a neurological process.

Senses, means by which animals detect and respond to stimuli in their internal and external environments. The senses of animals are most usefully described in terms of the kind of physical energy, or modality, involved. There are four main modalities: the light senses (photoreception; i.e....