primary somatosensory cortex

n. Anterior part of the parietal lobe (Brodmann's areas 3, 1, and 2), situated behind the central fissure and anterior to the parietal association areas (Brodmann's areas 5, 7, 39, and 40). It receives information from the ventral posterior nucleus of the thalamus. It is the main receptive area for the sense of touch, kinesthesia (movement), and proprioception (body position). Primary somatosensory cortex contains a sensory representation of the different body areas; this body map is referred to as sensory homunculus. Damage in the primary somatosensory cortical area results in contralateral hypesthesia, difficulties in two-point discrimination, position sense impairments, tactile recognition defects, and similar types of body recognition disorders. – AA

▶ See also SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX