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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 14.
Published in final edited form as: Pain. 2012 Nov 3;154(3):334–344. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2012.10.021

Figure 1. Neuroanatomical projection paths that convey nociceptive afferent drive from skin nociceptors to contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (SI).

Figure 1

Shown in red – projection from unmyelinated C nociceptors to: (1) HPC cells in spinal cord lamina I: (2) neurons in the posterior part of ventromedial nucleus of thalamus (VMpo): and (3) area 3a neurons in SI cortex. Shown in blue - projection from myelinated Aδ-nociceptors to: (1) NS neurons in lamina I and WDR neurons in lamina V of the spinal cord dorsal horn; (2) neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of thalamus (VPL); and (3) SI neurons in 3b/1. Inset at top-left shows: (1) cytoarchitectonic areas which comprise SI (3a, 3b, 1, and 2); and (2) the location of each area in the postcentral gyrus in human cerebral cortex; CS = central sulcus; cytoarchitectonic area 4 = primary motor cortex. Note the position of area 3a (ca. 2cm below the cortical surface) at the fundus of the CS, as well as its narrow (<6mm) rostro-caudal extent relative to that of either area 3b or area 1.