Chapter 17, Problem 1WYL

What is meant by somatotopy?

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The definition of somatotopy.

Introduction:

The central nervous system communicates with body structures through pathways. These pathways conduct either sensory or motor information. The processing and integration of sensory and motor information occur continuously along with them.

Explanation of Solution

Somatotopy is a precise correspondence of receptors in body regions, through axons, to specific functional areas in the cerebral cortex. For example, the pathways that connect the parts of the primary motor cortex to a specific body part exhibit somatotopy. Somatotopy is also present in the sensory homunculus on the primary somatosensory cortex of the postcentral gyrus.