Sensory neurons (also called sensory receptor cells) are neurons that convert a specific type of stimulus into action potentials or graded potentials.

This process is called sensory transduction.

This sensory information travels along a sensory nerve to the brain or spinal cord. The stimulus can be coming from outside of the body, for example light and sound, or from inside the body, for example blood pressure or the sense of body position.

Different types of sensory neurons respond to different kinds of stimuli.