The area of sensory cortex devoted to a body region is relative to the
A) size of the body area.
B) distance of the body area from the brain.
C) number of motor units in the area of the body.
D) number of sensory receptors in the area of the body.
E) size of the nerves that serve the area of the body.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The area of sensory cortex devoted to a body region is relative to the number of sensory receptors in the area of the body. This is because the density of sensory receptors in a body region determines the amount of neural input that region will receive and the size of the cortical area needed to process that input. Areas with a higher density of receptors will have larger cortical areas devoted to them, while areas with a lower density of receptors will have a smaller cortical area.

The Area of Sensory Cortex Devoted to a Body Region