What is the function of the sensory nerves?

• A. To regulate heart rate
• B. To cause muscles to contract
• C. To store memory
• D. To carry impulses from sense organs to the brain

Answer: (D)

Sensory nerves carry impulses from sense organs and receptors to the central nervous system. This is how we detect and interpret what we feel—touch, temperature, pain, vision, hearing, smell, and taste. The information travels along afferent (sensory) fibers to the brain or spinal cord, where it is processed into conscious sensation or used to trigger reflexes. This is distinct from motor nerves, which send signals from the brain to muscles to produce movement, and from pathways that control automatic bodily functions. For example, touching a hot surface sends signals through sensory nerves to the spinal cord, leading to an immediate reflex to withdraw and, once processed, a conscious sense of heat. So the main role of sensory nerves is to convey information from receptors to the brain for perception and response.