All parts of the brain › Functions › Body position (proprioception)

What part of the brain senses where your body is (proprioception)?

Proprioception, the sense of where your limbs are and how they move, starts in sensors in muscles, tendons and joints (muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, joint receptors). [1][2][3]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The list of parts still says what each one does for body position sense.

Lit: whole parts; region borders not drawn.

Slice

All 6 parts are lit together. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap a part on the brain or a name in the list to focus it; .

Their signals climb the spinal cord by two routes. The dorsal columns relay in the medulla oblongata and the thalamus to the postcentral gyrus, where you consciously feel your body’s position; the spinocerebellar tracts carry position signals, without awareness, to the cerebellum on the same side, which uses them to keep movement smooth. [1][2][3]

The gracile and cuneate nuclei is a region on the medulla oblongata, not a separate shape. The 3D model has no shape for it, so the whole medulla oblongata is lit; the region’s exact border is not drawn.

The ventral posterolateral nucleus is a region on the thalamus, not a separate shape. The 3D model has no shape for it, so the whole thalamus is lit; the region’s exact border is not drawn.

Body position (proprioception): 6 parts lit

Spinal cord (central canal), medulla oblongata, thalamus, postcentral gyrus, superior parietal lobule and cerebellum. Tap one to see where it is and what it does.

The parts and their roles

Carries position signals up in its back (dorsal) columns: the gracile fasciculus from the lower half of the body and the cuneate fasciculus from the upper body, the two meeting at the level of the sixth thoracic vertebra (T6). Beside them, the dorsal spinocerebellar tract starts in Clarke’s nucleus. This atlas draws the cord only as its central canal, so that thin channel is what lights. [2][3] Where is the spinal cord?
The dorsal-column fibres end in the gracile and cuneate nuclei of the lower medulla; the next neurons cross to the other side as the internal arcuate fibres and climb as the medial lemniscus, so the right side of the brain feels the left side of the body. Arm position signals bound for the cerebellum relay in the accessory cuneate nucleus here. [2][3] Where is the medulla oblongata?
The medial lemniscus ends in its ventral posterolateral nucleus, which passes touch and position signals from the body on to the somatosensory cortex of the postcentral gyrus. [2] Where is the thalamus?
The primary somatosensory cortex, where the dorsal-column signals end and position becomes conscious. It maps the opposite side of the body upside down, toes at the top of the gyrus, mouth at the bottom, with more cortex for densely supplied parts such as the hands and lips. [2][4] Where is the somatosensory cortex (postcentral gyrus)?
Part of the posterior parietal cortex behind the postcentral gyrus; it takes in a great deal of visual input and sensory input from the hand and is involved in spatial orientation, and the parietal lobe is the main area for body and spatial awareness. [5][6] Where is the superior parietal lobule?
Receives the unconscious route: the dorsal spinocerebellar and cuneocerebellar tracts enter it through the inferior cerebellar peduncle on the same side, carrying position and skin signals it uses to adjust movement as it happens. [3] Where is the cerebellum?

Named areas on the lit gyri

The gracile and cuneate nuclei, on the : The dorsal column nuclei in the lower medulla, where the first neurons of the conscious position pathway hand over to the second; the gracile nucleus serves the lower body, the cuneate nucleus the upper body. [2]
The ventral posterolateral nucleus, on the : The thalamic relay for touch and position signals from the body, between the medial lemniscus and the postcentral gyrus. [2]

How they work together

Two routes run side by side. The conscious one (dorsal columns, medial lemniscus) crosses to the other side in the medulla and ends in the cortex, so you can say where your hand is with your eyes shut. The unconscious one (spinocerebellar tracts) stays on the same side and ends in the cerebellum, which never makes the signal felt but uses it to steer movement. [2][3][1]
The dorsal columns carry fine touch and vibration as well as position, which is why one pathway serves the touch and the body-position pages alike. [2]
Proprioceptors are not only in muscles and joints: Wikipedia’s article also counts the vestibular organs of the inner ear, which report the head’s tilt and turning; that signal’s brain parts are on the balance page. [1]
Honest limit: the receptors that start the sense sit in muscles, tendons and joints, which this brain model does not show, and the nuclei and tracts named here are not separate shapes in it, so the whole spinal cord canal, medulla and thalamus are lit. The superior parietal lobule’s share in body awareness comes from the parietal lobe as a whole; the sources do not give it a single job. [1][2][7]

Fine touch and vibration travel up the same dorsal columns and medial lemniscus to the same postcentral gyrus. [2] What part of the brain feels touch, temperature and pain?

The vestibular organs of the inner ear are proprioceptors too; their signals and the cerebellum’s part in staying upright are on the balance page. [1] What part of the brain controls balance?

Sources

Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. A part lit here takes part in body position sense; it does not do it alone, and it does other jobs too. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); on it the brainstem includes the midbrain, pons and medulla, so lighting the brainstem lights all three.