Question

What is the difference between stimulus and response?

Answer 1

Hint: Stimulus and response are two aspects of the nervous system responsible for sensitivity in an organism and thereby maintain an internal equilibrium within the body of an individual. The living beings have the ability to detect the change in their external environment. This sensitivity brings about the response.

Complete answer:
We are already aware that the response is guided or produced by the nervous system in response to stimulus which can be both external as well as internal.
Let us see in detail about the difference between the two.

Stimulus	Response
Stimulus is a change detected in the internal or external environment of the organism	response is an organism’s reaction to that internal or external stimulus.
A stimulus can vary by its type, intensity and duration depending on the environmental conditions.	A response can either be cellular, physical or behavioural depending on the type of stimulus received.
Stimulus is received from the environment	response takes place within the organism or is a change in the behaviour of the organism itself.
The signal for stimulus is carried by afferent or sensory nerves in animals.	signal for response is carried by efferent or motor nerves.
Afferent nerves carry the stimulus signal towards the central nervous system.	The different nerves carry the response signal away from the central nervous system and towards the target organ.
Stimulus is collected by sensory organs in the body of an organism like eyes, ears, tongue, skin, and nose.	Response is given by effector organs like muscles, hands, legs etc as a reaction to the stimuli.

Note: From the above discussion, it can be noted that both, stimuli and response are two aspects of the nervous system present in animals. The function of both these components is to maintain homeostasis within the organism in a constantly changing environment. Plants also participate in stimulus and response action-reaction via hormones.