The somatosensory cortex is a region of the brain located in the parietal lobe and lies behind the primary motor cortex of the frontal lobe. It is responsible for processing sensory information from the body, including sensations such as touch, pressure, temperature, and pain. The primary somatosensory cortex receives projections from nuclei of the thalamus of the brain, which receive fibers from the contralateral half of the body, meaning the opposite side of the body from which the area is located in the brain. The somatosensory pathway serves as the conduit between the different sensory modalities within the body, sending information from the periphery to the postcentral gyrus and associated cortices to convey information from the surrounding environment. The somatosensory cortex is organized into six layers, much like the rest of the neocortex, and the primary somatosensory cortex receiving peripheral input will tend to have a larger fourth layer and smaller fifth layer. The somatosensory cortex uses sensory information to initiate important movements that may be required to deal with particular situations. Finally, the secondary somatosensory cortex connects to the hippocampus and the amygdala, allowing it to receive information from the environment and make decisions on how to deal with this information through using past experiences and how we feel about the situation.