| 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 | |
| System | Somatosensory system |
| Location | Parietal lobe |
| Artery | Middle cerebral artery |
| Function | Primary somatosensory cortex |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | gyrus postcentralis |
| NeuroNames | 105 |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_1070 |
| TA98 | A14.1.09.128 |
| TA2 | 5469 |
| FMA | 61896 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Inneuroanatomy, thepostcentral gyrus is a prominentgyrus in the lateralparietal lobe of thehuman brain. It is the location of theprimary somatosensory cortex, the main sensory receptive area for thesense of touch. Like other sensory areas, there is a map of sensory space in this location, called thesensory homunculus.
The primary somatosensory cortex was initially defined from surface stimulation studies ofWilder Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall. Although initially defined to be roughly the same asBrodmann areas3,1, and2, more recent work byKaas 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 thethalamocortical projections from the sensory input fields[citation needed].
The lateral postcentral gyrus is bounded by:
The postcentral gyrus includesBrodmann areas 1, 2, and 3. Brodmann area 1 occupies the apex of the postcentral gyrus.
