Touch uses which type of receptors?

• A. Thermoreceptors
• B. Nociceptors
• C. Mechanoreceptors
• D. Chemoreceptors

Answer: (C)

Touch relies on mechanoreceptors in the skin. These receptors respond to mechanical forces such as pressure, stretch, and vibration and convert that physical energy into neural signals that the brain can interpret as touch, texture, or shape. In the skin there are several mechanoreceptors tuned to different aspects of touch: fine touch and texture with Merkel cells, light touch with Meissner corpuscles, vibration and deep pressure with Pacinian corpuscles, and sustained pressure and skin stretch with Ruffini endings. The other receptor types detect different stimuli—thermoreceptors sense temperature changes, nociceptors detect potentially harmful stimuli and pain, and chemoreceptors respond to chemical substances. So the sense of touch is carried by mechanoreceptors because it specifically involves mechanical interactions with the skin.