Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices
Published on: January 22, 2018
Maintenance of discrete somatosensory maps in subcortical relay nuclei is dependent on an intact sensory cortex
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Whitaker College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
Abstract:
Lesions of the rat barrelfield cortex drastically alter the discrete representations of the somatosensory periphery in the central nervous system. We have found that lesions placed in the parietal cortex, after the formation of barrels (postnatal day 5), can irreversibly abolish vibrissae- and extremity-related patterns of cytochrome oxidase activity in the principal sensory nucleus of the trigeminal nerve and in the dorsal column nuclei. Furthermore, abnormal patterns of enzymatic activity occur in the remaining primary somatosensory cortex and the ventrobasal nucleus of the thalamus. We conclude that cortical barrels are essential in maintenance of periphery-related discrete morphological organization in the rodent somatosensory system.
Related Concept Videos
Somatosensation
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
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.
Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

