Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is a sensory system which comprises the receptors and processing center in the cerebral cortex. It produces the sensory modalities such as touch, temperature, proprioception (body position), and nociception (pain). The sensory receptors cover the skin and epithelia, skeletal muscles, bones and joints, internal organs, and the cardiovascular system.

The processing center of the somatosensory system is situated just posterior to the central sulcus in the lateral postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The somatosensory system is involved in processing tactile information (sense of touch) and it receives the somatic sensory data from the ventrobasal nucleus of the thalamus.