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Somatosensation

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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.

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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: May 31, 2026

Somatosensory Event-related Potentials from Orofacial Skin Stretch Stimulation

Somatosensory Event-related Potentials from Orofacial Skin Stretch Stimulation

Published on: December 18, 2015

Frequency specific modulation of human somatosensory cortex.

Matteo Feurra¹, Walter Paulus, Vincent Walsh

¹Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University College London London, UK.

Frontiers in Psychology

|June 30, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) can induce tactile sensations. Effective frequencies for this brain stimulation were found in alpha and high gamma bands, suggesting a frequency-dependent role for neural oscillations in touch perception.

Keywords:

frequencies somatosensory cortex tACS tactile

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory Perception
Brain Stimulation

Background:

Oscillatory neuronal activities are crucial for sensory processing but their precise functions remain unclear.
Investigating these roles requires methods to directly modulate brain oscillations and observe effects on perception.
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) offers a way to probe neural oscillations at specific frequencies.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if tACS applied to the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) can elicit tactile sensations in humans.
To investigate the frequency-dependent effects of tACS on tactile perception.
To explore the relationship between effective tACS frequencies and naturally occurring brain oscillations during tactile processing.

Main Methods:

tACS was applied over the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) in human participants.
A range of stimulation frequencies from 2 to 70 Hz was tested.
Participants reported the presence or absence of tactile sensations in response to stimulation.

Main Results:

tACS at alpha (10-14 Hz) and high gamma (52-70 Hz) frequencies reliably produced tactile sensations in the contralateral hand.
A less pronounced tactile sensation was observed with beta (16-20 Hz) frequency stimulation.
The findings demonstrate a clear frequency-dependent effect of tACS on tactile perception.

Conclusions:

tACS over SI can induce tactile sensations in a frequency-specific manner.
The effective frequencies align with those previously identified in electroencephalography/magnetoencephalography studies of tactile perception.
tACS is a valuable tool for investigating the causal roles of brain oscillations in sensory perception.