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Somatosensation

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.

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

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 Senses

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 Skin

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...

Thermosensation

Thermosensation

Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2026

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

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

Published on: March 15, 2019

Two forms of touch perception in the human brain.

Grazia Fernanda Spitoni¹, Gaspare Galati, Gabriella Antonucci

¹Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. grazia.spitoni@uniroma1.it

Experimental Brain Research

|October 23, 2010

Summary

Evaluating tactile stimuli involves distinct brain networks. Spatial distance judgment, unlike intensity, requires a Mental Body Representation (MBR), primarily engaging right-hemisphere regions like the angular gyrus.

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

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroimaging

Background:

The brain processes tactile information for both spatial awareness and intensity perception.
Understanding the neural underpinnings of these distinct tactile judgments is crucial for cognitive neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the neural activation patterns during tactile distance judgment versus tactile intensity judgment.
To investigate the role of Mental Body Representation (MBR) in processing spatial tactile information.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to observe brain activity in healthy subjects.
Participants performed two tasks: judging the distance between stimuli and judging the intensity of skin contact.

Main Results:

Both tactile tasks bilaterally activated parietal and frontal brain areas.
Tactile distance evaluation uniquely engaged the right angular gyrus and temporo-parieto-occipital junction.
Tactile intensity judgment did not show this specific lateralized activation.

Conclusions:

Tactile distance judgment relies on a Mental Body Representation (MBR), engaging specific right-hemisphere regions.
Tactile intensity judgment can be processed without the mediation of MBR.
Metric spatial evaluation of tactile stimuli is predominantly lateralized to the right hemisphere.