Which receptor is primarily responsible for sensing light touch and texture?

Which receptor is primarily responsible for sensing light touch and texture?

• A. Meissner's corpuscles
• B. Merkel Cells
• C. Krause End Bulb
• D. Pacinian corpuscles

Answer: (A)

Light touch and texture are detected primarily by rapidly adapting receptors located near the skin’s surface. Meissner's corpuscles sit just beneath the epidermis in glabrous skin (like fingertips) and respond quickly to gentle contact, flutter, and light movement across the skin. Their small receptive fields let you sense fine surface details and texture changes as you explore textures with your fingers, which is exactly what light touch and texture perception require. Merkel cells also contribute to tactile perception, but they are slow-adapting and provide information about sustained pressure and fine details of shape and texture over time, not the rapid cues associated with light touch. Pacinian corpuscles are deeper and respond to high-frequency vibrations and deeper pressure, not the light, surface-level touch described. Krause end bulbs are less involved in this function and are associated with other sensory modalities. So the best match for sensing light touch and texture is Meissner's corpuscles.

Light touch and texture are detected primarily by rapidly adapting receptors located near the skin’s surface. Meissner's corpuscles sit just beneath the epidermis in glabrous skin (like fingertips) and respond quickly to gentle contact, flutter, and light movement across the skin. Their small receptive fields let you sense fine surface details and texture changes as you explore textures with your fingers, which is exactly what light touch and texture perception require.

Merkel cells also contribute to tactile perception, but they are slow-adapting and provide information about sustained pressure and fine details of shape and texture over time, not the rapid cues associated with light touch. Pacinian corpuscles are deeper and respond to high-frequency vibrations and deeper pressure, not the light, surface-level touch described. Krause end bulbs are less involved in this function and are associated with other sensory modalities. So the best match for sensing light touch and texture is Meissner's corpuscles.