Touch receptors. Conceptual computer artwork of the touch receptors found in the skin of the human hand. These mechanoreceptors sense tactile stimulation, from light touches to heavy pressure, on the body's surface. A network of receptors and free nerve endings transmit impulses from the hand, along the arm, to the brain. There are several different types of touch receptor. Pacinian corpuscles are activated by heavy pressure and vibration, Meissner's corpuscles are stimulated by stroking, Merkel's discs are activated by light touch and vibration, and Ruffini's endings are stimulated by skin stretch.