The sensory cortex can refer informally to the
primary somatosensory cortex, or it can be used as a term for the primary and secondary
cortices of the different
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
s (two cortices each, on left and right
hemisphere): the
visual cortex on the
occipital lobes, the
auditory cortex on the
temporal lobes, the
primary olfactory cortex on the
uncus of the
piriform region of the temporal lobes, the
gustatory cortex on the
insular lobe (also referred to as the insular cortex), and the primary somatosensory cortex on the anterior
parietal lobes. Just posterior to the primary somatosensory cortex lies the somatosensory association cortex, which integrates sensory information from the primary somatosensory cortex (temperature, pressure, etc.) to construct an understanding of the object being felt. Inferior to the frontal lobes are found the olfactory bulbs, which receive sensory input from the olfactory nerves and route those signals throughout the brain. Not all olfactory information is routed to the olfactory cortex: some neural fibers are routed to the supraorbital region of the frontal lobe, while others are routed directly to
limbic structures. The direct limbic connection makes the olfactory sense unique.
The brain cortical regions are related to the auditory, visual, olfactory, and somatosensory (touch,
proprioception) sensations, which are located lateral to the
lateral fissure and posterior to the
central sulcus
In neuroanatomy, the central sulcus (also central fissure, fissure of Rolando, or Rolandic fissure, after Luigi Rolando) is a sulcus, or groove, in the cerebral cortex in the brain
The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the ...
, that is, more toward the back of the brain. The cortical region related to gustatory sensation is located anterior to the central sulcus.
Note that the central sulcus (sometimes referred to as the central fissure) divides the
primary motor cortex (on the
precentral gyrus of the posterior frontal lobe) from the primary somatosensory cortex (on the
postcentral gyrus of the anterior parietal lobe).
The sensory cortex is involved in somatic sensation, visual stimuli, and movement planning.
See also
*
Primary sensory areas
References
Cerebral cortex
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