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In neuroanatomy, the primary somatosensory cortex is located in the postcentral gyrus of the brain's parietal lobe, and is part of the somatosensory system. It was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Wilder Penfield , and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall.
Although initially defined to be roughly the same as Brodmann areas 3, 1, and 2, more recent work by Kaas has suggested that for homogeny with other sensory fields only area 3 should be referred to as "primary somatosensory cortex", as it receives the bulk of the thalamocortical projections from the sensory input fields [citation needed].
The sensory cortex can refer sometimes to the primary somatosensory cortex, or it can be used as a term for the primary and secondary cortices of the different senses (two cortices each, on left and right hemisphere): the visual cortex on the occipital lobes, the auditory cortex on the temporal lobes, the primary olfactory cortex on the uncus of the piriform region of the temporal lobes, the ...
The postcentral gyrus is in the parietal lobe and its cortex is the primary somatosensory cortex (Brodmann areas 3, 2 and 1) collectively referred to as S1. BA3 receives the densest projections from the thalamus. BA3a is involved with the sense of relative position of neighboring body parts and amount of effort being used during movement.
A 2-D model of cortical sensory homunculus. A cortical homunculus (from Latin homunculus ' little man, miniature human ' [1] [2]) is a distorted representation of the human body, based on a neurological "map" of the areas and portions of the human brain dedicated to processing motor functions, and/or sensory functions, for different parts of the body.
For example, Brodmann areas 1, 2 and 3 are the primary somatosensory cortex; area 4 is the primary motor cortex; area 17 is the primary visual cortex; and areas 41 and 42 correspond closely to primary auditory cortex.
This is due to the role of the central sulcus in separating the primary motor cortex and primary somatosensory cortex. [7] For example, differences along the central sulcus have been reported in musicians, particularly with regard to an omega formation along the center portion of the central sulcus, commonly referred to as the "hand knob". [ 12 ]
The primary purpose of the corticospinal tract is for voluntary motor control of the body and limbs. However, connections to the somatosensory cortex suggest that the pyramidal tracts are also responsible for modulating sensory information from the body. [1]