A synaptic resolution somatotopic map of nearly all mechanosensory neurons on the Drosophila head that individually elicit aimed grooming of specific head locations and collectively elicit a head grooming sequence.

Single-nociceptor tracing reveals a novel somatotopic organization for the mammalian pain system, and physiological recordings and peripheral optogenetic behavior assays suggest that it is a possible mechanism underlying region-specific pain sensation.

The human brain encodes coordinated patterns of joint movements – synergies – to increase the efficiency with which it can control complex hand movements.

Focal optogenetic stimulation strengthens functional connectivity between primary somatosensory and motor cortices in macaques, in a manner consistent with a Hebbian model of stimulus-driven plasticity.

Both hand and face representations remain relatively stable after arm amputation in adulthood, with no link to phantom limb pain, whereas pre-natal limb loss triggers complex patterns of remapping that do not relate to cortical topography.

Neural populations in PPC dynamically represent motor-like and then sensory-like aspects of brain–computer interface finger movements with a representational structure that matches able-bodied individuals.

Whisker barrels provide clues about neocortical development, as computer modelling shows that barrels can self-organize, based on competition between adjacent thalamocortical axons, suggesting that genetic instruction plays a secondary role.

Hand somatotopy can be preserved in the primary somatosensory cortex of tetraplegic patients, despite the absence of sensorimotor function and periphery-brain communication, but deteriorates over years after injury.

A combination of 7 tesla fMRI and psychophysics revealed the reorganisation of the human somatosensory cortex and changes in tactile perceptual abilities after just 24 hours of altered hand use.

The brain continues to represent individual fingers in primary somatosensory cortex decades after the amputation of a hand, indicating that cortical maps do not require ongoing sensory input from the body.