homunculus

A homunculus in neuroscience is a visual representation of how different parts of the brain map to various areas of the body, especially in the sensory and motor cortices. Imagine a distorted human figure where each body part's size reflects how much brain area is dedicated to controlling or sensing it; for example, the hands and face appear larger because they are more sensitive and have finer movement control. This concept helps us understand how the brain coordinates sensations and movements across different body regions.