The sensory cortex can refer informally to the

primary somatosensory cortex The primary somatosensory cortex is located in the postcentral gyrus The postcentral gyrus is a prominent gyrus In neuroanatomy, a gyrus (pl. ''gyri'') is a ridge on the cerebral cortex. It is generally surrounded by one or more sulci (dep ...

, 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 and responding to Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain receives signals from the senses ...

sense

s (two cortices each, on left and right

hemisphere Hemisphere may refer to: * A half of a sphere As half of the Earth * A hemispheres of Earth, hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemisphere ** Land and water hemispheres * A half of the ...

): the

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual perception, visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the Eye, eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleu ...

on the

occipital lobes The occipital lobe is one of the four Lobes of the brain, major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The name derives from its position at the back of the head, from the Latin ob, ''behind'', and caput, ''the head''. The occipita ...

, the

auditory cortex The auditory cortex is the part of the temporal lobe The temporal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammal Mammals (from Latin language, Latin , 'breast') are a group of vertebrate animals co ...

on the

temporal lobes The temporal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain A brain is an organ (anatomy), organ that serv ...

, the

primary olfactory cortexThe primary olfactory cortex is a portion of the cerebral cortex involved in olfaction Olfaction, or the sense of smell, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. It occurs when an odor binds to a olfactory receptor, re ...

on the

uncus The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a slight fissure called the incisura temporalis. Although superficially continuous with the hippocampal gyrus, the uncus forms ...

uncus

of the piriform region of the temporal lobes, the

gustatory cortex The primary gustatory cortex is a brain structure responsible for the perception of taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sens ...

on the

insular lobe

(also referred to as the insular cortex), and the primary somatosensory cortex on the anterior

parietal lobes The parietal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The parietal lobe is positioned above the temporal lobe and behind the frontal lobe and central sulcus. The parietal lobe integrates sensory infor ...

. 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 The limbic system, also known as the paleomammalian cortex, is a set of brain A brain is an organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (anatomy) An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and anim ...

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 Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world and responding to Stimulus (physiology ...

) sensations, which are located lateral to the

lateral fissure The lateral sulcus (also called Sylvian fissure or lateral fissure) is one of the most prominent features of the human brain. The lateral sulcus (neuroanatomy), sulcus is a deep fissure in each cerebral hemisphere, hemisphere that separates the fron ...

and posterior to the

central sulcus The central sulcus is a sulcus, or groove, in the cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of of the of the in and other s. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered , with jus ...

, 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 The primary motor cortex (Brodmann area 4) is a Human brain, brain region that in humans is located in the dorsal portion of the frontal lobe. It is the primary cortex, primary region of the motor system and works in association with other motor a ...

(on the

precentral gyrus The precentral gyrus is a prominent gyrus In neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system In Biology, biology, the nervous system is a Complex system, highly complex part of an animal ...

of the posterior frontal lobe) from the primary somatosensory cortex (on the

postcentral gyrus The postcentral gyrus is a prominent gyrus In neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system In Biology, biology, the nervous system is a Complex system, highly complex part of an animal ...

of the anterior parietal lobe). The sensory cortex is involved in somatic sensation, visual stimuli, and movement planning.

References

Cerebral cortex {{Neuroanatomy-stub

See also

References