The senses 4: touch - physiology of the sensation and perception of touch

Abstract

This final article in our series on the human senses explores the physiology of the sense of touch, including the receptors and sensory neurons responsible for detecting and relaying tactile information. It describes the somatosensory pathways involved, and explores how our sense of touch may be impaired by stroke and peripheral sensory neuropathies.

This article has been double-blind peer reviewed

In this article…

• Structure and function of the somatosensory system

• Role of the skin in conveying touch sensations

• Pathologies associated with altered sense of touch

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Key points

Receptors for the sense of touch are widely distributed across the skin surface and in the body

Sense of touch is the first of the five senses to develop in the foetus

Touch receptors are primarily located in the dermal layer of the skin

Meissner corpuscles in high density in the fingertips are primarily responsible for fine, discriminative touch and detecting vibrations

The somatosensory cortex for perceiving touch is in the post-central gyrus of the parietal lobes of the brain's cerebral hemispheres