Touch sensitive

This 6 foot tall model may not look like an accurate representation of the human body but it is actually based on scientific fact.

The model shows the proportion of the brain devoted to touch signals from different parts of the body.

As you can see a large proportion of the brain receives touch signals from the lips, ears and hands. 

The model is part of an exhibition called 'Brain: The Inside Story' on at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Click here for a link to the website and information about the exhibition. I was in New York this summer and unfortunately I didn't manage to get to the museum but this exhibition looks fantastic. It investigates how your brain deals with senses, emotions and thinking, how your brain changes throughout your lifetime and how new technologies and discoveries can be harnessed in the future.

Not to lower the tone but there are areas of the body not shown in this photo that I would be interested to see the size of! Perhaps the creator wanted to spare our blushes! It would also be interesting to see how males and females differed when depicted in this way.

I love the way that science has been displayed here. It is so accessible and simple and instantly catches your attention and draws you in. It is as much art as science.