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.
Any of the 47 numbered areas of the cerebral cortex, such as Area 17, the primary visual cortex, in the most widely used reference map of the brain (see illustration).
The secondary auditory cortex, Brodmannarea 42, and the auditory association cortex, Brodmannarea 22, are essential cortical regions...
The structure, Brodmann'sarea 44, is part of the language centre known as Broca's area, and the scans reveal that it is larger...
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