What is cerebral homunculus?

A cortical homunculus, or “cortex man,” illustrates the concept of a representation of the body lying within the brain. Nerve fibres—conducting somatosensory information from all over the body—terminate in various areas of the parietal lobe in the cerebral cortex, forming a representational map of the body.

What is homunculus in cerebellum?

A homunculus is a topographical-organized map of the proportional representation of the contralateral somatosensory or motor neurons on the cortex or passing though a part of the brain. The maps are often comical, as the body parts are disproportionally represented compared to their physical size.

What is the purpose of the homunculus?

This homunculus shows the parts of the body next to the areas of the brain that process their sense of touch. The parts that are large use a lot of brain area.

Which body parts have the largest representation in the somatosensory homunculus?

It has a large representation of the face and hands compared with the torso, arms and legs. Why is this? The reason is the brain maps each sensory receptor onto the cortex rather than considering the area of the body where the sensor is located.

What does a homunculus look like?

A homunculus (UK: /hɒˈmʌŋkjʊləs/ hom-UNK-yuul-əs, US: /hoʊˈ-/ hohm-, Latin: [hɔˈmʊŋkʊlʊs]; “little person”) is a representation of a small human being, originally depicted as small statues made out of clay.

How long do homunculi live?

two months
Yggdmillennia homunculi Created as disposable soldiers meant to overwhelm in numbers, their lifespans amount to only two months due to being born with various defects.

What happens if the sensory cortex is damaged?

Damage to the somatosensory cortex can produce numbness or sometimes paraesthesia, which is a tingling sensation in certain parts of the body. Numbness can result due to damage in the cortex which then affects the receptors on the body for certain areas.

How is the homunculus organized?

The topographical representation of the homunculus is arranged in an anatomical fashion and represents the contralateral side. This means that the primary cortex in the right cerebral hemisphere represents motor activity on the left side of the body and vice-versa.

Can homunculus grow up?

Homunculi are born with mature bodies and all necessary knowledge and reasoning given to them the moment they are born. They never become older, so the concept of “age” is meaningless for them.