somatosensory cortex the region of the cerebral cortex receiving the somatic sensory radiation from the ventrobasal nucleus of the thalamus; it represents the primary cortical processing mechanism for sensory information originating at the body surfaces (touch) and in deeper tissues such as muscle, tendons, and joint capsules (position sense); it corresponds approximately to Brodmann areas 1, 2, and 3 on the postcentral gyrus and the posterior paracentral gyrus. SYN: somesthetic area.
