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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex01:23

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...
Sensory Functions of the Skin01:16

Sensory Functions of the Skin

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays a crucial role in our sensory perception. It contains a vast network of sensory receptors that contribute to the skin's protective function by perceiving physical, biological, and environmental cues and generating relevant responses.
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Testing Tactile Masking between the Forearms
08:05

Testing Tactile Masking between the Forearms

Published on: February 10, 2016

Active and passive touch differentially activate somatosensory cortex in texture perception.

Cristina Simões-Franklin1, Teresa Aisling Whitaker, Fiona N Newell

  • 1Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Human Brain Mapping
|July 30, 2010
PubMed
Summary

This study used fMRI to explore brain activity during active and passive touch. Active touch engaged the primary somatosensory cortex more, while stimulus roughness influenced the parietal operculum.

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Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)
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Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
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Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Testing Tactile Masking between the Forearms
08:05

Testing Tactile Masking between the Forearms

Published on: February 10, 2016

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)
04:40

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Published on: July 30, 2020

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
04:27

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans

Published on: March 15, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Sensory Perception

Background:

  • The neural basis of active and passive touch remains incompletely understood.
  • Investigating how the brain processes tactile information during different exploratory actions is crucial for understanding sensory perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the brain correlates of active versus passive touch using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  • To differentiate the neural processing of tactile exploration procedures from the processing of surface texture properties.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity.
  • Participants performed a roughness categorization task involving active touch (moving finger) and passive touch (moving surface).
  • Stimuli included three grades of sandpaper (coarse, medium, fine).

Main Results:

  • Active touch showed greater activation in the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex compared to passive touch.
  • Parietal operculum (OP) activation was significantly influenced by stimulus roughness, but not by the exploration procedure.
  • Active touch elicited broader brain activation outside the somatosensory region, likely due to motor involvement.

Conclusions:

  • Different cortical areas are involved in processing surface exploration versus surface texture.
  • Exploration procedures primarily affect primary somatosensory cortex activation.
  • Stimulus properties (roughness) impact higher-level cortical areas within the somatosensory system.