ABSTRACT
Somesthesis refers to t he ability to de tect external and internal stimuli, t he nat ure of w hich c ould b e me chanical, t hermal, or even pa inful, t he l atter b eing su ciently s trong to d amage tissues. is ability relies upon the activation of populations of di erent re ceptors lo cated at t he b ody su rface a nd i n de eper structures like muscles or joints. Somatosensory inputs are carried to t he b rain b y d i erent a scending pat hways r unning through t he s pinal c ord, brainstem, a nd t halamus. ese sensory me ssages re ach t he primary s omatosensory c ortex b efore being integrated in higher-order cortices and subcortical areas.
