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Somatic sensory help

  1. Dec 13, 2012 #1
    In the Human Brain right in back of the Primary Moto Cortext is the Primary Sensory Cortex.

    What is the Primary Sensory Cortex for I know it is part of the Parietal Lob.
  2. jcsd
  3. Dec 13, 2012 #2


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    In more modern language, primary sensory cortex is not the same thing as primary somatosensory cortex (although in old language it apparently was, according to Wikipedia). In modern language, primary sensory cortex includes primary visual cortex, primary auditory cortex, and primary somatosensory cortex.

    Since your title asks about somatic sensory cortex, I will assume that you mean primary somatosensory cortex. The term "primary" means that it is the first part of the cortex to receive somatosensory information ("touch" information). So if you touch your fingers to the table, neurons in your somatosensory cortex will be activated. Similarly, if an object brushes against your face, different neurons in your somatosensory cortex will be activated.

    Take a look at figure 1 of http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21982165 (there is a link to a free version of the article). They show that touching different parts of the hand activates different parts of the primary somatosensory cortex.
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2012
  4. Dec 13, 2012 #3


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    Another important sensor is the ones in your muscles that tell you how they are stretched. Taken together, these help the brain recognize the bodies position in space. The parietal lobe has a lot of associations with spatial reasoning.

    The vestibular system (a fluid filled apparatus that can detect body kinetics) probably also contributes in this regard.

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