Definition for Thermoreceptor
From Biology Forums Dictionary
1) A sensory receptor that responds to cold and heat.
2) A thermoreceptor is a sensory receptor, or more accurately the receptive portion of a sensory neuron, that codes absolute and relative changes in temperature, primarily within the innocuous range. In the mammalian peripheral nervous system warmth receptors are thought to be unmyelinated C-fibres (low conduction velocity), while those responding to cold have both C-fibers and thinly myelinated A delta fibers (faster conduction velocity). The adequate stimulus for a warm receptor is warming, which results in an increase in their action potential discharge rate. Cooling results in a decrease in warm receptor discharge rate. For cold receptors their firing rate increases during cooling and decreases during warming. Some cold receptors also respond with a brief action potential discharge to high temperatures, i.e. typically above 45°C, and this is known as a paradoxical response to heat. The mechanism responsible for this behavior has not been determined. A special form of thermoreceptor is found in some snakes, the viper pit organ and this specialized structure is sensitive to energy in the infrared part of the spectrum.