The DOI matches its Crossref record; 11 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 17 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
Penfield's homunculus: a note on cerebral cartography
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Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
Schott’s historical essay examines how Penfield’s homunculus illustrations, beginning in 1937, became highly influential but remained scientifically ambiguous and mixed observation with artistic convention. It traces their evolution and argues they gave an unjustified impression of single, established cortical maps.
Key findings
- The first homunculus, published by Penfield and Boldrey in 1937 and drawn by Mrs H P Cantlie, combined motor and sensory features symmetrically; its sizing rationale was unclear, especially the undefined terms “perpendicular” and “vertical,” and the drawing did not distinguish unilateral from bilateral effects.
- The 1950 Penfield and Rasmussen version separated motor and sensory representations, placed the figure along the cortical surface, and came closer to a map tied to surgically identified brain areas; by 1954, Penfield and Jasper presented multiple homunculi for Rolandic, secondary sensory, and supplementary motor regions while explicitly calling them memory aids or cartoons rather than topographically accurate.
- Later homunculi in the thalamus and elsewhere, including those associated with Hassler et al. and Creutzfeldt, are described as increasingly artistic devices with doubtful scientific value; animal figurines such as the simiusculus followed the human precedent.
- Schott argues the homunculus misleadingly suggests a single, settled cortical representation, whereas evidence from animal work indicates multiple somatosensory areas, plasticity, and possible differences between maps of evoked potentials and maps of perceived sensations.
Methods
- Historical and critical commentary rather than an empirical study; no new experiments or primary data are reported.
- The analysis draws on published works and illustrations by Penfield and collaborators from 1937, 1950, and 1954, along with related historical and experimental literature.
- The main approach is interpretive: comparing visual conventions, terminology, cartographic problems, and the scientific claims attached to the homunculus.
Limitations
- The paper states no formal limitations.
- Evident from the text: as an editorial-style essay, it offers no systematic review, no new data, and relies on selected historical sources and reproductions.
- Evident from the text: its central critique is interpretive, and the author acknowledges ongoing ambiguity about what the homunculus was intended to represent.
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Claims the paper makes
18 Own interpretation · 8 Sources not found · 7 No basis given · 6 No full text of the sources · 2 Not checked yet
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In the paper
“This compares with the first homunculus, which was not drawn in relation to the hemispheres at all.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“there are formidable cartographic diffi- culties in using a device such as an homunculus as a type of map.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“patients with damage affecting somatosensory systems show evidence of marked somatotopic reorganisation at thalamic level.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [12]
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
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In the paper
“Penfield's data obtained using comparatively large-diameter stimulating electrodes in patients with brain disease”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [1] Hassler R, Mundinger F, Riechert T. Stereotaxis in Parkinson syndrome. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1979: (front cover). source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Penfield and Jasper3 were the first to place a homunculus in this subcortical region”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [3] Penfield W, Rasmussen T. The cerebral corltex of man. New York: Macmillan, 1950:44, 56, 214-15.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“maps of cortical potentials evoked peripherally are not identical to maps of perceived sensa- tions induced by direct cortical stimulation.”
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In the paper
“They described their work on the effects of stimulation of the cerebral cortex in man, the procedures being carried out as exploratory manoeuvres to delineate the appropriate area for subsequent surgical intervention.”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [1] Hassler R, Mundinger F, Riechert T. Stereotaxis in Parkinson syndrome. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1979: (front cover). source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“It was the first time pictorial means of illustrating cortical representation had been attempted; it was thus an entire- ly new concept”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [1] Hassler R, Mundinger F, Riechert T. Stereotaxis in Parkinson syndrome. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1979: (front cover). source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“The homunculus, however, is outlined by an imaginary 'envelope' which does not exist.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“From experi- ments using electrical stimulation techniques in monkeys, however, it seems probable that the concept of simple somatotopic organisation is inadequate.8”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [8] Dennett DC. Brainstornms. Philosophical essayNs on miind and psychology. Hassocks, Sussex: Harvester Press 1979:57-59.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Not matched
- Probably not a substantial claim. 20
- It may state two separate claims as one. 18
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“draped along the cortical surface and interhemispheric fissure.In this homunculus, however, the motor and sensory representations have been separat- ed, slightly modified and corrected”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“responses have been transposed to the same side of the brain for the purposes of representation, and it is not possible from the illustra- tion to distinguish unilateral from bilateral effects of cor- tical stimulation.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“It was symmetrical in shape and illustrated both motor and sensory features together”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Penfield's homunculus is shown with an outline which encompasses the area of cortical representation.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Whilst the homunculus appears to relate to length rather than width, the parts illustrated are in fact enlarged in both dimensions.”
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“All these animal representations are more figurative than accurate, contrasting with the extremely accurate mapping of localised evoked potentials illustrat- ed diagrammatically rather than by means of figurines.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“It suggests that the homunculus has taken over from its authors, and illustration has out- stripped the scientific evidence available.”
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“At cortical level, plasticity of maps of outputs of the human motor system has been demonstrated after amputation, paraplegia and hemispherectomy, and changes in sensorimotor represen- tation have been demonstrated in blind braille readers”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Pascual-Leone et at
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
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In the paper
“Penfield and Jasper now illustrated three sets of homun- culi (fig 3), the first set (motor and sensory) in relation to the Rolandic fissure, a second apparently purely sensory homunculus in the secondary sensory area near the Sylvian fissure, and a third homunculus (virtually only motor) in the supplementary motor cortex.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [3] Penfield W, Rasmussen T. The cerebral corltex of man. New York: Macmillan, 1950:44, 56, 214-15.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
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In the paper
“They confirmed the precise topography of cortical localisation, and were able to relate stimulation of a discrete part of the brain with motor and sensory phenomena affecting a particular part of the body.”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [1] Hassler R, Mundinger F, Riechert T. Stereotaxis in Parkinson syndrome. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1979: (front cover). source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Penfield was aware not only of this individual variation but also that the effects of cortical stimulation could change after surgery.”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [1] Hassler R, Mundinger F, Riechert T. Stereotaxis in Parkinson syndrome. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1979: (front cover). source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Thirteen years later, in their monograph entitled The cerebral cortex of man, Penfield and Rasmussen made another attempt to illustrate cortical representation.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [2] Creutzfeldt OD. Cortex cerebri. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1983: 216.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These difficulties include two-dimensional repre- sentation of diverse, three-dimensional information both in the periphery and in the brain, the representation of multiple and sometimes overlapping images, and simulta- neous representation of bilateral and unilateral data.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“it is this unresolvable difficulty which makes the homunculus an unsatisfactory and per- haps even misleading image.”
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Scientific illustrations of brain function should be accurate and unambiguous to be scientifically valuable.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“inappropriate representation could actually impede scientific advance.”
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Thus Penfield's homunculus is not only ambiguous in what exactly it does represent, but also gives an unjustified impression of cortical representation which is both single and established.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The homunculus appears now to have degenerated into a purely artistic device vaguely based on animal experimental work, without any scientific basis to justify the human form portrayed.”
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“For the sensory homunculus, Merzenich et aO provide evidence for multi- ple maps representing different functions, and there is evidence in non-human primates that there are as many as seven or more somatosensory areas”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Merzenich et aO
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [10] Welker C. Receptive fields of barrels in the somatosensory neocortex of the rat. 7 Comtparative Neuirol 1976;166: 173-190. source
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“The essence of all such drawings is that they are forms of maps, which represent how one collection of points is linked to another.”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [10] Welker C. Receptive fields of barrels in the somatosensory neocortex of the rat. 7 Comtparative Neuirol 1976;166: 173-190. source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“what actually was represented, however, was ambiguous and confusing.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“there is uncertainty as to what actually was being represented.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Some patients report that the phantom that follows amputation often fades, but it does so in a non-sequential manner.”
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Nevertheless, the first figurine was human, with Penfield's homunculus the precedent for the profusion of illustrations of experimental work on animals.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The border between fact and imagination has been blurred: the homunculus has been imbued with character”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“the homunculus as represented by Penfield gives the impres- sion of single motor and sensory maps.”
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“It is clear that both scientifically and graphically there is considerable ambiguity in what Penfield was intending to illustrate.”
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“With this stated aim, however, it seems curiously contradictory to represent meticulous scientific observa- tions by means of an homunculus.”
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
In the paper
“the length of the bars giving an indication of the relative cortical areas from which the corresponding responses were elicited.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [2] Creutzfeldt OD. Cortex cerebri. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1983: 216.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim.
- Not matched
The paper relies on this without support.
Scientific illustrations of brain function should be accurate and unambiguous to be scientifically valuable.
“Maps, however, are designed to be accurate as well as informative”
Citations
Cites
Gould, H. J., Cusick, C. G., Pons, T. P., & Kaas, J. H. (1986) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.902470303 · Cited by 520
Receptive fields of barrels in the somatosensory neocortex of the rat
Welker, C. (1976) · Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.901660205 · Cited by 519
Creutzfeldt, O. D. (1983) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-68962-8 · Cited by 156
Stereotaxis in Parkinson Syndrome
Hassler, R., Mundinger, F., & Riechert, T. (1979) · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-66521-9 · Cited by 133
The biological origin of human values
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STIMULATION OF THE MEDIAL SURFACE OF THE HUMAN CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE AFTER HEMISPHERECTOMY
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Cortical map plasticity in humans
Pascual‐Leone, Á., Cohen, L. G., & Hallett, M. (1992) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/0166-2236(92)90341-5 · Cited by 16
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Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Penfield W, Jasper H. Epilepsy and the fiunctional aniatomyii, of the humolani brain. London: J and A Churchill, 1954:105-106; 159.
- Melzack R. Phantom limbs, the self and the brain. Canadian Psychology 1989;30,1-16.
- Dennett DC. Brainstornms. Philosophical essayNs on miind and psychology. Hassocks, Sussex: Harvester Press 1979:57-59.
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“Although the general medial-to-lateral leg, arm, and face representation appeared consistently in all early studies, one doubts that the level of somatotopic detail was ever intended by the near omnipresent homunculus cartoon (Schott 1993).”
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“In part, this may be because of the relatively smaller cortical region in the sensory homunculus dedicated to this relatively large region of the body, in contrast to those dedicated to areas like the hands and face.(26) Clinically, this is evidenced by a much higher threshold for 2-point discrimination over the skin…”
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Catani, M. (2017) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awx270 · Cited by 152
“Forced to think out a way of displaying their findings they conceived the controversial homunculus (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundInfluentialA novel approach of decoding EEG four-class motor imagery tasks via scout ESI and CNN
Hou, Y., Zhou, L., Jia, S., & Lun, X. (2019) · Journal of Neural Engineering · doi:10.1088/1741-2552/ab4af6 · Cited by 152
“For the physical processing of the body, there is a topographical correspondence between the different parts of the human body and the different regions of motor cortex area of the brain according to the motor homunculus of Penfield’s homunculus [51, 52].”
BackgroundIndovina, I., & Sanes, J. N. (2001) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2001.0776 · Cited by 133
“The level of somatotopic detail depicted by the homunculus figurine cartoon present in many reference sources was likely never intended (Schott, 1993), though it has received wide distribution as witnessed by inclusion in major neuroscience texts (e.g., Kandel et al., 2000).”
BackgroundHanganu‐Opatz, I. L. (2010) · Brain Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.03.005 · Cited by 132
“Somatotopic organization of information as “homunculus” has been reported for the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) (Whitsel et al., 1978; Schott, 1993; Morecraft et al., 2002), whereas tone processing is reliably achieved within tonotopic maps of primary auditory cortex (A1) (Merzenich et al.,…”
BackgroundMotor system evolution and the emergence of high cognitive functions
Mendoza, G., & Merchant, H. (2014) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2014.09.001 · Cited by 131
The history of invasive EEG evaluation in epilepsy patients
Reif, P. S., Strzelczyk, A., & Rosenow, F. (2016) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.04.006 · Cited by 114
“Intraoperative stimulation studies demonstrated the representations of gastric, motor and sensory functions by insular tissue, but also their variable representation [17–21].”
Rudolf, L., & Capobianco, R. A. (2014) · The Open Orthopaedics Journal · doi:10.2174/1874325001408010375 · Cited by 115
“Patients with multiple pain generators, regardless of treatment, may not experience a high degree of improvement as the cortical region of the sensory homunculus governing the low back and hip is relatively small, making it difficult for the brain to distinguish discrete pain generators in this area [35].”
BackgroundBrain-machine interfaces: an overview.
Lebedev, M. (2014) · Translational Neuroscience · doi:10.2478/s13380-014-0212-z · Cited by 112
Orderly Somatotopy in Primary Motor Cortex: Does It Exist?
Sanes, J. N., & Schieber, M. H. (2001) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2000.0733 · Cited by 112
“However, no unequivocal evidence emerged to suggest more discrete somatotopic organization within a major representation, and one doubts that the structured somatotopy suggested by the summary homunculus (or simiusculus) cartoons was ever intended (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundDettmers, C., Adler, T., Rzanny, R., van Schayck, R., Christian Gaser, B., Weiß, T., Miltner, W. H. R., Brückner, L., & Weiller, C. (2001) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/s0304-3940(01)01953-x · Cited by 104
“Its existence con®rms the role of the motor system in the information process of pain.”
BackgroundSun, Z., Zhu, M., & Lee, C. (2021) · Nanoenergy Advances · doi:10.3390/nanoenergyadv1010005 · Cited by 100
Individual Variation in Human Motor-Sensory (Rolandic) Cortex
Farrell, D. F., Burbank, N., Lettich, E., et al. (2007) · Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1097/wnp.0b013e31803bb59a · Cited by 99
“Our findings support those of others (Sutherling et al. 1988, Uematsu et al., 1992, Schott, 1993; Baringa, 1995), and suggest that the Penfield homunculus can be perpetuated as a simplified teaching tool, but one that does not represent complete reality.”
ResultBilateral representations of touch in the primary somatosensory cortex
Tamè, L., Braun, C., Holmes, N. P., Farnè, A., & Pavani, F. (2016) · Cognitive Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/02643294.2016.1159547 · Cited by 98
“Notably, although several versions of the homunculus have been depicted over the years (Schott, 1993), the essential information conveyed remained largely unchanged.”
BackgroundSomatotopic Organization of Thalamocortical Projection Fibers as Assessed with MR Tractography
Yamada, K., Nagakane, Y., Yoshikawa, K., Kizu, O., Ito, H., Kubota, T., Akazawa, K., Oouchi, H., Matsushima, S., Nakagawa, M., et al. (2007) · Radiology · doi:10.1148/radiol.2423060297 · Cited by 87
A neurocomputational approach to delusions
Spitzer, M. (1995) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0010-440x(95)90103-5 · Cited by 87
Branco, D. M., Coelho, T. M., Branco, B. D. M., Schmidt, L. P., Calcagnotto, M. E., Portuguez, M. W., Neto, E. P., Paglioli, E., Palmini, A., Lima, J. V., et al. (2003) · Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1097/00004691-200302000-00002 · Cited by 83
“Several authors have demonstrated the safety of these parameters, which do not cause electrolytic lesions in the cerebral cortex (Da Costa et al., 1998; Ojemann, 1996; Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundMoon, S.-K., Alaverdashvili, M., Cross, A. R., & Whishaw, I. Q. (2009) · Experimental Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2009.04.021 · Cited by 84
“…of motor cortex is complex (Woolsey et al., 1952; Jackson, 1958; Hall and Lindhom, 1974; Strick and Preston, 1982; Neafsey et al., 1986; Schott, 1993; Friel et al., 2005), and as used in the present study the lesions were not specifically directed to any region (e.g., the rostral vs.…”
BackgroundLesser, R. P., Crone, N. E., & Webber, W. R. (2010) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2010.04.037 · Cited by 81
Brugger, P., & Möhr, C. (2008) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2008.05.008 · Cited by 71
“‘‘Seeing things’’ is a quite general consequence of scientists’ propensity to conclude what their theories lead them to expect (Webb, 1957; Scharf, 1990; for a neurological context see Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundFunctional parcellation using time courses of instantaneous connectivity
van Oort, E. S. B., Mennes, M., Schröder, T. N., Kumar, V., Jimenez, N. I. Z., Grodd, W., Doeller, C. F., & Beckmann, C. F. (2017) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.07.027 · Cited by 62
“…primates and in humans, has furthered our understanding of this somatotopic mapping, and introduced the concept of the homunculus (Rao et al., 1995; Schott, 1993), forming a detailed functional topography within the motor cortex that has previously x (left) compared to known cytoarchitectonic…”
ResultBernabéu, Á., Mollá-Torró, J. V., López‐Celada, S., et al. (2019) · European Radiology · doi:10.1007/s00330-019-06352-z · Cited by 63
“We found bilateral activation of the pre- and postcentral gyrus along the central sulcus in all subjects, reflecting activation of the primary sensorimotor cortex [30].”
BackgroundMohan, A., & Vanneste, S. (2017) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.03.010 · Cited by 62
“One of the rare, yet popular visual phantoms is the perception of complex images such as faces of people, landscapes, animals, and trees in inappropriate scenarios following deafferentation of visual input, known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome (Schadlu et al., 2009; Schultz and Melzack, 1991).”
InfluentialPan, C., Peck, K. K., Young, R. J., & Holodny, A. I. (2012) · American Journal of Neuroradiology · doi:10.3174/ajnr.a2952 · Cited by 57
The Hermunculus: What Is Known about the Representation of the Female Body in the Brain?
Nota, P. M. D., Newman, L., Wall, S., et al. (2012) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhs005 · Cited by 57
Microsurgical anatomy of the central lobe
Frigeri, T. M., Paglioli, E., de OLIVEIRA, E., et al. (2015) · Journal of neurosurgery · doi:10.3171/2014.11.jns14315 · Cited by 54
Implantable brain computer interface: Challenges to neurotechnology translation
Konrad, P. E., & Shanks, T. (2009) · Neurobiology of Disease · doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2009.12.007 · Cited by 58
“Although Penfield is credited with systematically mapping the physiological architecture of cortical function in humans (Feindel, 1982; Schott, 1993), his discoveries were built on previous animal work by Sherrington and Foerster (primates and non-primates), Fritzch and Hitzig (dogs) and Ferrier…”
MethodShin, J., & Jeong, J. (2014) · Journal of Biomedical Optics · doi:10.1117/1.jbo.19.6.067009 · Cited by 52
“33 From this physiological reason, we can classify the hemodynamic responses evoked by arm lifting and knee extension using the Δ C HbO at D4.”
MethodIntegration of vibrotactile frequency information beyond the mechanoreceptor channel and somatotopy
Kuroki, S., Watanabe, J., & Nishida, S. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02922-7 · Cited by 52
Qiu, T., Chen, L., Mao, Y. Q., Wu, J., Tang, W., Hu, S.-N., Zhou, L., & Gu, Y.-D. (2013) · Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp-2013-304956 · Cited by 47
Bayesian population receptive field modeling in human somatosensory cortex
Puckett, A. M., Bollmann, S., Junday, K., Barth, M., & Cunnington, R. (2019) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116465 · Cited by 44
Park, S.-H., & Lee, S.-G. (2017) · IEEE Sensors Journal · doi:10.1109/jsen.2017.2671842 · Cited by 44
Manipulating the Perceived Shape and Color of a Virtual Limb Can Modulate Pain Responses
Matamala-Gomez, M., Nierula, B., Donegan, T., Slater, M., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm9020291 · Cited by 43
“highlighted the importance of the preserved representation of the amputated limb in the area of the brain where the former hand was represented [51] as a key factor involved in chronic phantom pain.”
BackgroundReports of intimate touch: Erogenous zones and somatosensory cortical organization
Turnbull, O. H., Lovett, V. E., Chaldecott, J., & Lucas, M. (2013) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2013.07.010 · Cited by 42
“…2008; Bradley, Farrell, & Ojemann, 1998; Georgiadis & Holstege, 2005; Georgiadis et al., 2006; Kell, von Kriegstein, Rösler, Kleinschmidt, & Laufs, 2005; Komisaruk et al., 2011; Michels, Mehnert, Boy, Schurch, & Kollias, 2010; Penfield & Boldrey, 1937; Penfield & Rasmussen, 1950; Schott, 1993).”
Blepharospasm and the modulation of cortical excitability in primary and secondary motor areas
Kranz, G., Shamim, E. A., Lin, P. T., Kranz, G., Voller, B., & Hallett, M. (2009) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3181c5b42d · Cited by 40
Shenoy Handiru, V., Vinod, A. P., & Guan, C. (2017) · Journal of Neural Engineering · doi:10.1088/1741-2552/aa6baf · Cited by 36
Neurologic Heuristics and Artistic Whimsy: The Cerebral Cartography Of Wilder Penfield
Snyder, P. J., & Whitaker, H. A. (2013) · Journal of the History of the Neurosciences · doi:10.1080/0964704x.2012.757965 · Cited by 36
“Schott made two very important points regarding the basic assumptions underlying the depiction of motor or sensory homunculi in the brain (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundInfluentialBCI classification using locally generated CSP features
Park, Y., & Chung, W. (2018) · International Conference on Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) · doi:10.1109/iww-bci.2018.8311492 · Cited by 35
“[7] LS-SVM Classifier, accessed on Oct. 26, 2015.”
InfluentialJahangiri, A., & Sepulveda, F. (2018) · Journal of Medical Systems · doi:10.1007/s10916-018-1137-9 · Cited by 35
Nsugbe, E., Samuel, O. W., Asogbon, M. G., & Li, G. (2021) · IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics · doi:10.1049/csy2.12009 · Cited by 35
“For transhumeral amputees, this remains an area that requires further investigation, as it has not been possible to investigate this question further due to the recruited amputees, whose data was used for the analysis, being trauma ‐ based amputees [37,39].”
BackgroundMapping of sheep sensory cortex with a novel microelectrocorticography grid
Gierthmuehlen, M., Wang, X., Gkogkidis, C. A., Henle, C., Fischer, J., Fehrenbacher, T., Kohler, F., Raab, M., Mader, I., Kuehn, C., et al. (2014) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.23631 · Cited by 35
“This cortex features a cartographic representation of the creature’s body in a somatotopic manner (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundNeuroelectric Correlates of Human Sexuality: A Review and Meta-Analysis
Ziogas, A., Habermeyer, E., Santtila, P. O., Poeppl, T. B., & Mokros, A. (2020) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01547-3 · Cited by 31
Magnetoencephalography in fronto-parietal opercular epilepsy
Kakisaka, Y., Iwasaki, M., Alexopoulos, A. V., et al. (2012) · Epilepsy Research · doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2012.05.003 · Cited by 32
“Notably, the somatotopic representation of the lower peri-rolandic and opercular areas has not been fully clarified (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundNeuroanatomy, Precentral Gyrus
Banker, L., & Tadi, P. K. R. (2019) · StatPearls · Cited by 30
Channel Selection for Optimal EEG Measurement in Motor Imagery-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces
Arpaïa, P., Donnarumma, F., Espósito, A., et al. (2020) · International Journal of Neural Systems · doi:10.1142/s0129065721500039 · Cited by 29
The Montreal procedure: The legacy of the great Wilder Penfield
Ladino, L. D., Rizvi, S., & Téllez‐Zenteno, J. F. (2018) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2018.04.001 · Cited by 28
Primary hand motor representation areas in healthy children, preadolescents, adolescents, and adults
Säïsänen, L., Könönen, M., Niskanen, E. I., Lakka, T. A., Lintu, N., Vanninen, R. L., Julkunen, P., & Määttä, S. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117702 · Cited by 27
7T ultra-high-field neuroimaging for mental health: an emerging tool for precision psychiatry?
Neuner, I., Veselinović, T., Ramkiran, S., Rajkumar, R., Schnellbächer, G. J., & Shah, N. J. (2022) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-022-01787-3 · Cited by 26
“The LE further decreased significantly in the right precentral gyrus, that is known as the location of the primary motor cortex [65].”
BackgroundMan‐in‐the‐Barrel Syndrome Associated with Closed Head Injury
Crisostomo, E. A., & Suslavich, F. (1994) · Journal of Neuroimaging · doi:10.1111/jon199442116 · Cited by 25
Revealing the invisible: the paradox of picturing a phantom limb
Schott, G. D. (2013) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awt244 · Cited by 21
“The same empirical consideration applies to Penfield and Boldrey’s homunculi, which too were necessarily drawn with outlines demarcating the extent of the body parts mapped over the cerebral cortex (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundSelf-citationBarinaga, M. (1995) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.7792588 · Cited by 23
Hidalgo‐Pérez, A., Fernández-García, Á., López‐de‐Uralde‐Villanueva, I., Gil‐Martínez, A., Paris‐Alemany, A., Fernández‐Carnero, J., & Touche, R. L. (2015) · PubMed Central · Cited by 22
Black, R. D., & Rogers, L. L. (2020) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2020.00012 · Cited by 23
“The tongue also has a high density of somatosensory receptors, as can be seen in images of the somatosensory homunculus, originally created by Penfield (Schott, 1993). The authors assert that tongue stimulation results in less non-specific brain activation as compared with other NIBS approaches. In Wildenberg et al. (…”
BackgroundLearning about brain physiology and complexity from the study of the epilepsies
Garcia‐Cairasco, N. (2009) · Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research · doi:10.1590/s0100-879x2009000100012 · Cited by 21
Previous, current, and future stereotactic EEG techniques for localising epileptic foci
Dasgupta, D., Miserocchi, A., McEvoy, A. W., et al. (2022) · Expert Review of Medical Devices · doi:10.1080/17434440.2022.2114830 · Cited by 20
Deep-Learning-Based Automatic Selection of Fewest Channels for Brain–Machine Interfaces
Kim, H.-S., Ahn, M.-H., & Min, B. (2021) · IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics · doi:10.1109/tcyb.2021.3052813 · Cited by 18
Brief history of electrical cortical stimulation: A journey in time from Volta to Penfield
Isitan, C., Yan, Q., Spencer, D. D., et al. (2020) · Epilepsy Research · doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2020.106363 · Cited by 19
Emerging principles in functional representations of touch
Tamè, L., & Longo, M. R. (2023) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-023-00197-6 · Cited by 21
“The topographic organisation of somatosensory cortex is well captured by one of the most famous illustrations in neuroscience, the somatosensory (and motor) homunculus 37 (Fig.”
Wahezi, S. E., Caparo, M. A., Malhotra, R., Sundaram, L., Batti, K. S., Ejindu, P., Veeramachaneni, R. P., Anițescu, M., Hunter, C., Naeimi, T., et al. (2024) · Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface · doi:10.1016/j.neurom.2023.11.002 · Cited by 20
Maguire, C. C., Sieben, J. M., & de Bie, R. A. (2018) · Physiotherapy Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/09593985.2018.1434579 · Cited by 19
“These lead to the development of the motor homunculus (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundConceptual developments in the neurosciences relevant to psychiatry
Spitzer, M. (1995) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00001504-199509000-00011 · Cited by 18
An improved version of local activities estimation to enhance motor imagery classification
Togha, M. M., Salehi, M. R., & Abiri, E. (2021) · Biomedical Signal Processing and Control · doi:10.1016/j.bspc.2021.102485 · Cited by 17
The History of Neuroanesthesiology
Lanier, W. L. (2012) · Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology · doi:10.1097/ana.0b013e3182697743 · Cited by 17
Psychotic Experience and Disordered Thinking: A Reappraisal from New Perspectives
SCHWARTZ, M. A., Wiggins, O. P., & Spitzer, M. (1997) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-199703000-00007 · Cited by 17
Human mimetic forearm mechanism towards bionic arm
Seo, M., Kim, H., & Choi, Y. (2017) · International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics · doi:10.1109/icorr.2017.8009408 · Cited by 16
“According to the reference [1], hand takes 32% of the motor cortex area in the brain.”
BackgroundExercise and microstructural changes in the motor cortex of older adults
Rowley, C. D., Bock, N. A., Deichmann, R., Engeroff, T., Hattingen, E., Hellweg, R., Pilatus, U., Füzéki, E., Gerten, S., Vogt, L., et al. (2019) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.14585 · Cited by 17
“For the ROI analysis, the dorsal medial precentral gyrus was chosen as it best corresponds to the leg region of motor cortex (Schott, 1993), in the absence of individual functional maps to precisely depict the region in each subject (Kocak, Ulmer, Sahin Ugurel, Gaggl, & Prost, 2009).”
MethodVerst, S. M., Chung, T. M., Sucena, A. C., et al. (2012) · Acta Neurochirurgica · doi:10.1007/s00701-012-1505-z · Cited by 15
“The representation of the thumb on the Penfield homunculus at the somatosensory cortex is more superior and medial to the representation of the lips, which are more lateral [14, 17, 19, 20].”
BackgroundWang, L., Zhang, Z., Okada, T., Li, C., Chen, D., Funahashi, S., Wu, J., & Yan, T. (2021) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhab097 · Cited by 16
“This is one of the important neuronal encoding schemes in S1, which was first drawn by Penfield as a homunculus (Penfield and Boldrey 1937; Penfield and Jasper 1954; Schott 1993).”
BackgroundKakisaka, Y., Iwasaki, M., Haginoya, K., et al. (2010) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2010.09.026 · Cited by 15
“Details of the somatotopic map in the lower central sulcus, responsible for laryngeal, pharyngeal, oral, and facial function, remain unclear (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundEccles’ perspective of the forebrain, its role in skilled movements, and the mind–brain problem
Wiesendanger, M. (2006) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2006.02.004 · Cited by 15
A meta-analysis of brain morphometric aberrations in adolescents who experienced childhood trauma
Tymofiyeva, O., Hu, R., Kidambi, R., Nguyen, C., Max, J. E., & Yang, T. T. (2022) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.1022791 · Cited by 15
“gyrus also contains a portion of the supplementary motor cortex, which is involved in the planning of voluntary limb movement (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundThe Pragmatics of Sustainable Unmaking: Informing Technology Design through e-Waste Folk Strategies
Khan, A. H., Sabie, S., & Vyas, D. (2023) · Designing Interactive Systems Conference · doi:10.1145/3563657.3596056 · Cited by 14
Can Wearable Devices Facilitate a Driver’s Brake Response Time in a Classic Car-Following Task?
Zhu, A., Cao, S. C., Yao, H., Jadliwala, M. S., & Hu, J. (2020) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2020.2971632 · Cited by 15
“PenfieldHomunculus [40], which suggests a topographic correspondence between body sensory areas and the brain cortex for sensory and motor processing [41].”
BackgroundEtiology of phantom limb syndrome: Insights from a 3D default space consciousness model
Jerath, R., Crawford, M. W., & Jensen, M. (2015) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2015.04.025 · Cited by 14
“Somatosensory homunculi, cortical representations of the human body, are located in the primary somatosensory cortex, ventral posterior thalamus (VPN), periaqueductal and periventricular gray matter [36], and primary motor cortex [54].”
BackgroundMulti-direction hand movement classification using EEG-based source space analysis
Handiru, V. S., Vinod, A. P., & Guan, C. (2016) · Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC) · doi:10.1109/embc.2016.7591740 · Cited by 14
“It is because the cortical activation regions corresponding to such complex tasks are often overlapping and located very close to each other inside the cortex [9].”
BackgroundBonnal, J., Özsancak, C., Monnet, F., Valéry, A., Prieur, F., & Auzou, P. (2023) · Brain Topography · doi:10.1007/s10548-023-00972-x · Cited by 15
“According to the classical homunculus, the area representing the shoulder muscles is more medial than that of the finger muscles in the primary motor cortex (Schott 1993).”
BackgroundKimura, Y., Yamada, S., Komatsu, K., et al. (2024) · Journal of neurosurgery · doi:10.3171/2024.2.jns232753 · Cited by 13
Task load modulates tDCS effects on language performance
de Almeida, L. R., Pope, P. A., & Hansen, P. (2019) · Journal of Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1002/jnr.24490 · Cited by 15
“…2010; Davare, Lemon, & Olivier, 2008), but seems to also play a role in articulatory planning with the LIFGop (Duffau et al., 2003; Maldonado, Moritz‐Gasser, & Duffau, 2011), and the adjacent primary motor cortex, involved with movements of muscles of the oral cavity (Feher, 2012; Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundEncoding experience: Quantifying multisensory perception of urban form through a systematic review
Kavee, K., & Flanigan, K. A. (2025) · Computers Environment and Urban Systems · doi:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2025.102349 · Cited by 18
Chung, K., & Shin, D. (2015) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.06.003 · Cited by 11
Garcia-Lopez, A., Martínez, V. M. C., Ortiz, T., Sánchez‐Pena, J. M., & Vergaz, R. (2022) · Electronics · doi:10.3390/electronics11142196 · Cited by 11
“…according to the corresponding space that the cortex assigns to each organ, where the larger the size, the greater the sensitivity of the tissue [45]. choice of these motor placement points was based on the Penfield ho-munculus, which represents a map of the location of the organs and senses in…”
MethodComposite Agency: Semiotics of Modularity and Guiding Interactions
Sharov, A. A. (2017) · Biosemiotics · doi:10.1007/s12304-017-9301-z · Cited by 11
“It appears that human body is mapped onto the brain cortex along the central groove, where motor cortex areas are located near sensorial cortex areas for the same body part (Schott 1993).”
BackgroundTan, F. M., Caballero‐Gaudes, C., Mullinger, K. J., Cho, S., Zhang, Y., Dryden, I. L., Francis, S., & Gowland, P. A. (2017) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.23767 · Cited by 9
“Meta-analysis works well in SMN due to the high selectivity of its cortical organization with limited overlap between activated regions for different motor tasks [Penfield and Rasmussen; Penfield and Boldrey, 1937; Schott, 1993].”
BackgroundMarzell, R., Reichwein, G., Gieler, U., Kupfer, J., & Schut, C. (2019) · British Journal of Dermatology · doi:10.1111/bjd.18368 · Cited by 11
Phantom Pains and Prosthetic Narratives
Minnis, A. J. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108989695 · Cited by 10
Kershman’s sad reflections on the homunculus
Feinsod, M. (2005) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000150893.86066.29 · Cited by 11
Kakinoki, R., Duncan, S. F. M., Ikeguchi, R., et al. (2017) · The Journal of Hand Surgery (Asian-Pacific Volume) · doi:10.1142/s0218810417500162 · Cited by 10
Using subdural electrodes to assess the safety of resections
Lesser, R. P., Crone, N. E., & Webber, W. R. (2010) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.08.022 · Cited by 9
Guenther, K. M. (2016) · Canadian Journal of Health History · doi:10.3138/cbmh.33.2.148-27012015 · Cited by 9
Body Schema and Body Image: History and Controversies
Cuzzolaro, M. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90817-5_1 · Cited by 10
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“…describing Penfield's homunculus showed that the precise topography of cortical localization indicates that motor and sensory phenomena affecting a particular part of the body stimulate a nonoverlapping, discrete part of the cerebral cortical motor and sensory cortex, respectively (Schott, 1993).”
BackgroundPenfield Homunculus and Recent Advances in Brain Mapping
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Spastic foot-drop as an isolated manifestation of neurocysticercosis
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“The Penfield’s motor homunculus provides a visual somatotopic localisation of ankle and toe in the parasagittal region which has also been confirmed by brain functional localisation studies.(10) In our patient, the common peripheral causes of footdrop were excluded by clinical examination, laboratory findings and norm…”
Metadata
- Authors
- Schott, G. D.
- Corresponding author
- Schott, G D
- ORCID
- Schott, G D
- Venue
- Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 1993-04-01
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 329-333
- ISSN
- 0022-3050 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC1014945
- OpenAlex
- W1977511501
- Semantic Scholar
- 8e4cf6a9481532759799d868ea788a5ac066c05d
- Cited by
- 222
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 8
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurology and Historical Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › History of Medical Practice
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › History of Science and Medicine
- Keywords
- homunculus, cortical mapping, sensory homunculus, motor homunculus
- MeSH terms
- Brain Mapping, Humans, Medical Illustration, Motor Cortex, Somatosensory Cortex, United States, History, 20th Century
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