Final answer:
The process after the activation of sensory receptors involves reception, where stimuli activate receptors; transduction, converting the stimuli to neural signals; and integration, where the nervous system processes this information to generate appropriate responses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Three-Step Process After Sensory Receptors
The process that occurs after activation of the sensory receptors involves three key steps: reception, transduction, and integration. Reception is the initial step, where sensory receptors are activated by stimuli such as mechanical, chemical, or temperature changes. The receptors' receptive field determines the extent in space where they can detect stimuli. This could vary greatly among the different senses, such as needing physical contact for the sense of touch or detecting stimuli from vast distances as with vision.
Transduction follows reception and involves converting the physical or chemical stimulus into a neural signal. This process is carried out either by neurons that work with sensory receptors or by sensory nerve endings that constitute sensory receptors themselves. Special senses such as olfaction, gustation, equilibrium, and hearing, as well as general senses like somatosensation, undergo transduction.
Finally, integration is where the nervous system processes the information received. Stimuli are compared with existing memories or the current state of the individual to produce a contextual response. In the cerebral cortex, sensory processing begins at the primary sensory cortex, progresses to association areas, and culminates in multimodal integration areas.