Postcentral gyrus

In neuroanatomy, the postcentral gyrus is a prominent gyrus in the lateral parietal lobe of the human brain. It is the location of the primary somatosensory cortex, the main sensory receptive area for the sense of touch. Like other sensory areas, there is a map of sensory space in this location, called the sensory homunculus.

Postcentral gyrus
Postcentral gyrus of the human brain
Brodmann areas 3, 1 and 2 of human brain. Brodmann area 3 is in red, area 1 in green, and area 2 in yellow.
Details
SystemSomatosensory system
LocationParietal lobe
ArteryMiddle cerebral artery
FunctionPrimary somatosensory cortex
Identifiers
LatinGyrus postcentralis
NeuroNames105
NeuroLex IDbirnlex_1070
TA98A14.1.09.128
TA25469
FMA61896
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

The primary somatosensory cortex was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Wilder Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall. Although initially defined to be roughly the same as Brodmann areas 3, 1 and 2, more recent work by Kaas has suggested that for homogeny with other sensory fields only area 3 should be referred to as "primary somatosensory cortex", as it receives the bulk of the thalamocortical projections from the sensory input fields.

Structure

The lateral postcentral gyrus is bounded by:

The postcentral gyrus includes Brodmann areas 1, 2, and 3. Brodmann area 1 occupies the apex of the postcentral gyrus.

See also

Additional images
  • Postcentral gyrus (animation)
  • Lateral surface of left cerebral hemisphere, viewed from the side.
  • Primary cortices, including primary somatosensory cortex (labeled in purple)
  • Postcentral gyrus, showed on the right hemisphere.
  • Postcentral gyrus highlighted in green on coronal T1 MRI images
  • Postcentral gyrus highlighted in green on sagittal T1 MRI images
  • Postcentral gyrus highlighted in green on transversal T1 MRI images
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