The human head is formed of different structures and the most crucial component of the body in a person’s life is the somatosensory cerebral cortex. Of these areas the somatosensory cortex is also very important in perceiving and functioning in the real environment. Whether a person is sunbathing, pricking a finger or simply rubbing sandpaper on skin, this area of the brain is performing; the somatosensory cortex.
The somatosensory cortex essentially processes any stimuli that are in any way related to the touch sensation and haptic reception. Let’s explore the answer.
Answered – The somatosensory cortex is responsible for processing ________.
The correct answer is: Touch.
The sensation of touch comes from the somatosensory cortex and other tactile sensations, including pressure, hot and cold, pain, and body position. Moreover, this is the part of the brain that deals with sensory perception; it informs the body’s feeling over skin, muscles, and joints.
Explanation
The position of the Somatosensory cortex is in the parietal lobe of the brain. It is slightly posterior to the central sulcus. Further, it can divide into two subdivisions; the primary somatosensory cortex or the first layer and the secondary somatosensory cortex or the second layer.
Here’s how it works:
- Sensory Input Collection
Touch receptors in the skin or pressure receptors in muscles sense mechanical stimuli such as pressure, heat, or pain.
- Signal Transmission
These signals travel through the spinal cord where they relay to the cerebral cortex, specifically the somatosensory cortex.
- Processing and Perception
Somatosensory cortex processes attributes of the stimulus—this includes the type, location, and intensity to tell you the texture, pain or position of your arms and legs.
This is how you instinctively pull your hand away from a hot stove or realize your foot is asleep. Further, it’s all thanks to this powerful brain region.
The 5 Senses Explained
The somatosensory cortex mainly deals with touch, but let’s look at how all five senses process in the brain:
- Touch (Somatosensation)
Processed in the somatosensory cortex. Examples of qualitative factors consist of the feeling of pressure, pain, temperature and position of the body among others. - Sight (Vision)
Processed in the occipital lobe. The visual area of the brain assists you see forms, hues and movements. - Hearing (Audition)
Handled by the temporal lobe. Sound frequency, pitch and language can process in the auditory cortex. - Taste (Gustation)
Detected in the gustatory cortex which is located in the frontal and insular lobes. - Smell (Olfaction)
Controlled by the olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex that situate in the temporal lobe.
FAQs
Q1: Is the somatosensory cortex involved in emotions or memory?
A: Not directly. Vestibular tactuosia is directly connected with limbic system and more specifically it is associated with the amygdala and with the hippocampus.
Q2: Can one damage the somatosensory cortex?
A: Yes. It is a somatosensory deficit which is the impairment of the feeling or the ability to locate a touch sensation due to stroke, trauma or disease.
Q3: Is the somatosensory cortex active when watching someone else being touched?
A: Interestingly, yes. The general theory posits that empathising behaviour is a direct result of interaction between theory of mind and somatosensory cortex and there is evidence to confirm that observation of other being touched stimulates your somatosensory cortex.
Q4: How does the brain know where a touch is coming from?
A: The somatosensory cortex has a representation of the human body called the homunculus that helps it delay touch and sensation, which is where it is from.
