Receptor Captive

Non-free receptors: what are they?

Receptors are special proteins located on cell membranes that perform the function of perceiving various environmental stimuli, such as chemicals, sounds, temperature, pressure, etc. The main property of receptors is their ability to respond to various signals and generate electrical impulses, which are then transmitted to the nervous system for processing and interpretation.

However, there is a special category of receptors called “non-free receptors”. These receptors are different from normal receptors in that they cannot function on their own—they require additional molecules to bind to them to activate them. Such molecules are called ligands, and can be either specific (that is, they act on only one type of receptor) or nonspecific (they act on different types of receptors).

Systems controlled by non-free type receptors play an important role in the regulation of many processes