A photoreceptor, or photoreceptor cell, is a specialize type of neuron (nerve cell) found in the eye's retina that is capable of phototransduction. The great biological importance of photoreceptors is that as cells they convert light (electromagnetic radiation) into the beginning of a chain of biological processes. More specifically, the photoreceptor absorbs photons from the field of view, and through a specific and complex biochemical pathway, signals this information through a change in its membrane potential.