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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.

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

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.

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...

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

Reversible Cooling-induced Deactivations to Study Cortical Contributions to Obstacle Memory in the Walking Cat

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Published on: December 11, 2017

Cortical post-movement and sensory processing disentangled by temporary deafferentation.

Ulf Thiemann¹, Annet Bluschke, Franz Resch

¹Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Blumenstr. 8, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. ulf.thiemann@med.uni-heidelberg.de

|September 13, 2011

Summary

Motor cortex activation continues after quick movements, even without sensory feedback. This suggests an internal motor model aids in adjusting movements based on their outcomes.

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Last Updated: May 29, 2026

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

Motor system calibration relies on adjusting to movement consequences, often after the movement ends.
The precise mechanisms for comparing reafferent feedback with programmed movements are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if motor cortex activity after a movement is dependent on reafferent sensory feedback.
To test the hypothesis of a short-term motor cortex memory trace independent of sensory input.

Main Methods:

High-resolution electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record post-movement cortical potentials.
A reaction time task involving unilateral hand button presses was employed.
Temporal deafferentation was induced using a blood pressure tourniquet to block sensory feedback.

Main Results:

The lateralized motor N700 component persisted during deafferentation, despite the absence of tactile and proprioceptive feedback.
Source analysis indicated sustained activation in the pre-/primary motor cortex.
This demonstrates that motor cortex activation outlasts movements for approximately one second without sensory input.

Conclusions:

Motor cortex activity after movement can be dissociated from reafferent sensory feedback.
Continuing motor cortex activation may function as an internal motor model, crucial for motor learning and movement adjustment.
This finding has implications for understanding how the brain refines motor skills.