The primary sensory areas are the primary cortical regions of the five sensory systems in the brain (taste, olfaction, touch, hearing and vision). Except for the olfactory system, they receive sensory information from thalamic nerve projections. The term primary comes from the fact that these cortical areas are the first level in a hierarchy of sensory information processing in the brain. This should not be confused with the function of the primary motor cortex, which is the last site in the cortex for processing motor commands.[1]

Though some areas of the human brain that receive primary sensory information remain poorly defined, each of the five sensory modalities has been recognized to relate to specific groups of brain cells that begin to categorize and integrate sensory information.

References

  1. ^ Kandel, Eric (2013). Principles of Neural Science. McGraw-Hill. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-07-139011-8.
  2. ^ Kandel, Eric (2013). Principles of Neural Science. McGraw-Hill. p. 727. ISBN 978-0-07-139011-8.
  3. ^ Simmons, W. Kyle; Rapuano, Kristina M.; Kallman, Seth J.; Ingeholm, John E.; Miller, Bernard; Gotts, Stephen J.; Avery, Jason A.; Hall, Kevin D.; Hall, Kevin D. (Nov 2013). "Category-specific integration of homeostatic signals in caudal, but not rostral, human insula". Nat. Neurosci. 16 (11): 551–1552. doi:10.1038/nn.3535. PMC 3835665. PMID 24077565.
  4. ^ Marieb, Elaine N.; Hoehn, Katja (2008). Anatomy & Physiology, Third Edition. Boston: Benjamin Cummings/Pearson. pp. 391–395. ISBN 978-0-8053-0094-9.
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