the primary somatosensory cortex is located at the postcentral gyrus and its function is sensory perception.
the primary somatosensory cortex is located at the postcentral gyrus and its function is sensory perception.
where is the primary somatosensory cortex located and what is its function?
postcentral gyrus
primary somatosensory cortex









































the primary somatosensory cortex is located in the postcentral gyrus, 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.
primary somatosensory cortex
the sensory cortex can refer informally 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 gustatory cortex on the insular lobe (also referred to as the insular cortex), and the primary somatosensory cortex on the anterior parietal lobes. just posterior to the primary somatosensory cortex lies the somatosensory association cortex, which integrates sensory information from the primary somatosensory cortex (temperature, pressure, etc.) to construct an understanding of the object being felt. inferior to the frontal lobes are found the olfactory bulbs, which receive sensory input from the olfactory nerves and route those signals throughout the brain. not all olfactory information is routed to the olfactory cortex: some neural fibers are routed to the supraorbital region of the frontal lobe, while others are routed directly to limbic structures. the direct limbic connection makes the olfactory sense unique.
sensory cortex