File:Phototrophic_Response_to_Stimulus.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ859031· pop 56· linked from 615 articles

stimulus

Also known as Physical Stimulation

in physiology, a detectable change in the internal or external surroundings

AI overview

A stimulus is any detectable change in your surroundings—either inside your body or in the environment around you—like a sound, touch, temperature shift, or change in blood sugar. Your body detects these stimuli through sensory systems and responds to them, which is how you perceive the world and maintain health.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

202,856 papers

Cold Stimulus Headache.ReviewCurrent neurology and neuroscience reports · 2019Chebini A, Dilli EDOI: 10.1007/s11910-019-0956-5
Beyond task response-Pre-stimulus activity modulates contents of consciousness.ReviewPhysics of life reviews · 2024Northoff G, Zilio F, Zhang JDOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.03.002
Sleep consolidates stimulus-response learning.Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) · 2023Miao X, Müller C, Lutz ND et al.DOI: 10.1101/lm.053753.123
Stimulus Control Research and Practice: Considerations of Stimulus Disparity and Salience for Discrimination Training.ReviewBehavior analysis in practice · 2021Halbur ME, Caldwell RK, Kodak TDOI: 10.1007/s40617-020-00509-9
Behavioral studies of stimulus learning in zebrafish larvae.ReviewBehavioural processes · 2019Colwill RMDOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.04.005
Classical Conditioning(Archived).2026Sanvictores T, Mahabadi N, Rehman CI
Stimulus Heterogeneity in a Task-Irrelevant Dimension Affects Selective Attention.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Kim CH, Han SWDOI: 10.3390/bs13060495
Stimulus selection enhances value-modulated somatosensory processing in the superior colliculus.PLoS biology · 2025Chu YW, Chinta S, Keri HVS et al.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003057

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Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Physical stimulation

Sources (3)

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~22 min read

Article

The light from the lamp (1.) functions as a detectable change in the plant's environment. As a result, the plant exhibits a reaction of phototropism—directional growth (2.) toward the light stimulus.

In physiology, a stimulus is a change in an organism's internal or external environment. This change, when detected by an organism or organ using sensitivity, can lead to a physiological reaction. Sensory receptors can receive stimuli from outside the body, as in touch receptors in skin or light receptors in the eye, as well as from inside the body, as in chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors. When detected by a sensory receptor, a stimulus can elicit a reflex via stimulus transduction. An internal stimulus is often the first component of a homeostatic control system. External stimuli are capable of producing systemic responses throughout a body, as in the fight-or-flight response. For a stimulus to be detected with high probability, its level of strength must exceed the absolute threshold; if a signal does reach threshold, the information is transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), where it is integrated and a decision on how to react is made. Although stimuli commonly cause the body to respond, it is the CNS that finally determines whether a signal causes a reaction or not.