Thursday 19 May 2011

Homunculus

In case you haven't come across a homunculus before, here is one: a somatosensory homunculus, derived from the researches into brain activity of neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield (title link). From his cortical mapping came the above homunculus (Latin for "little man"), a representation of the varying degrees of sensitivity of our bodies. The hands, the face, the mouth, the lips and the tongue are shown as hugely important. Our manual dexterity is down to strong cortical connections. Even if you're ham-fisted, you were born to be a tool-maker and an artist, slavering over your berries and meat pie.

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