The postcentral gyrus is a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain and an important landmark. It is almost the same as Brodmann areas 3, 1 and 2.
It is the location of primary somatosensory cortex, the main sensory receptive area for the sense of touch. Like other sensory areas, there is a map of sensory space called a homunculus in this location. For the primary somatosensory cortex, this is called the sensory homunculus. See a somewhat fanciful and highly schematic representation of the sensory homunculus at lower right.
Brodmann Areas 3, 1 and 2
Brodmann areas 3, 1 and 2 of human brain. Brodmann area 3 is in red, area 1 in green, and area 2 in yellow.
Brodmann areas 3, 1 and 2 comprise the primary somatosensorycortex of the human brain. Because Brodmann sliced the brain somewhat obliquely, he encountered area 1 first; however, from rostral to caudal the Brodmann designations are 3, 1 and 2, respectively.
Sensory homunculus of the human brain.
This area of cortex, as shown by Wilder Penfield and others, has the pattern of a homunculus. That is, the legs and trunk fold over the midline; the arms and hands are along the middle of the area shown here; and the face is near the bottom of the figure. While it is not well-shown here, the lips and hands are enlarged on a proper homunculus, since a large number of neurons in the cerebral cortex are devoted to processing information from these areas.
Cytoarchitecturally bounded rostrally by the preparietal area 5 and the caudal postcentral area 2; caudally by the peristriate area 19; and medially by the dorsal posterior cingulate area 31.
Cytoarchitecturally bounded dorsocaudally by the intermediate frontal area 8, caudally by the agranular frontal area 6, and ventrally by the frontopolar area 10, the middle frontal area 46 and the opercular area 44.
Cytoarchitecturally bounded on the rostral and lateral aspects of the hemisphere by the frontopolar area 10, the orbital area 47, and the triangular area 45; on the medial surface it is bounded dorsally by the area 12 and caudally by the subgenual area 25.
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