The postcentral gyrus is the cerebral convolution located on the parietal lobe of the cerebrum, behind the central sulcus.
Anatomy
The postcentral gyrus has a somatotopic organization.
Function
The somatosensory cortex is located in the postcentral gyrus, where tactile sensations from the body are processed directly. As in the precentral gyrus, individual body parts are also disproportionately represented in the postcentral gyrus. This is directly related to the corresponding receptor density in the periphery. The more finely differentiated the sensory organ is in the periphery, the larger its corresponding field in the postcentral gyrus.
Imaging
Deficit symptoms
Damage to the postcentral gyrus causes impairment of sensation of touch, pressure, pain (least affected), temperature, and proprioception in the affected area of the contralateral half of the body, as well as a loss of discriminative, fine-localization sensation1. In very small lesions, only some of these functions may be impaired, depending on the location of the lesion.
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