34 Responses

1. Alvaro says:

   October 4, 2006 at 11:37

   Watch this fun short animation:

   http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/flash/hom.html

   In short, the figure shows what a man’s body would look like if each body part kept proportion to the area of the cortex of the brain involved with its sensory perception.
2. eleanor says:

   October 5, 2006 at 2:28

   that is hilarious! – I was mildly apprehensive about whether or not they would omit certain body parts – particularly if it was for kids to see – but they cunningly glossed over the issue!
3. Alvaro says:

   October 5, 2006 at 8:18

   Yes, I had to be careful
4. avk rao says:

   December 2, 2006 at 9:06

   The funny face looks like a funny figure from AESOPES FABLES OR ARABIANNIGHTS
   BUT MAY REPRESENTA STAGE IN EVOLUTIN OFMAN BETWEN APE AND HOUS ERECTUS-A V K RAO
5. Alvaro says:

   December 3, 2006 at 11:51

   Hi A V K, please check the little animation and enjoy it
6. » Well-deserved break: Top 10 Brain Teasers   « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains      says:

   December 9, 2006 at 8:53

   [...] 5. Who is this?: A very important little guy [...]
7. » Well-deserved break: Top 10 Brain Teasers   « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains      says:

   March 12, 2007 at 7:40

   [...] 5. Who is this?: A very important little guy [...]
8. e22 says:

   August 28, 2007 at 1:26

   he is the little man in your head that causes all your visual activities.
9. Alvaro says:

   August 28, 2007 at 8:50

   e22: please check the visual animation

   http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/flash/hom.html
10. Rodrigo Fuenzalida says:

    October 7, 2007 at 11:51

    This ugly and deformed man is a representation of the degree of sensitivity of the surfaces of our body, in means of the amount of cortex dedicated to each. The most bigger body parts are the mor sensitive, like the lips and hands. The smaller ones are the ons that require the less sensitivity of all, like our legs and back.
11. Alvaro says:

    October 7, 2007 at 3:37

    Great explanation, Rodrigo, thanks.
12. » Brain Teasers and Games for adults, with a neuroscience angle: our Top 50    « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains      says:

    October 16, 2007 at 11:17

    [...] 3. Who is this?: A very important little guy (Interactive). [...]
13. joe says:

    October 17, 2007 at 10:27

    ummmm…this isn’t a brain exercise of any kind, it’s a trivia question.
14. Keetsa Mattress Store - Keetsa! Blog - Eco-Friendly and Green News » Blog Archive » 50 Fun Brain Games says:

    October 17, 2007 at 6:34

    [...] 3. Who is this?: A very important little guy (Interactive). [...]
15. FreeBee says:

    October 18, 2007 at 6:47

    Now THAT explains why kissing is so effective. See the size of the mouth, especially the lips.
    Touching a fellow human being, by design, is something pleasurable, because we need that for reproduction. Kissing might be considered just another form of touching, but its effect is so much stronger than that of most other activities.
16. Alvaro says:

    October 18, 2007 at 7:00

    Great point, FreeBee
17. Beachgirl says:

    October 22, 2007 at 10:33

    The homunculus is also commonly used to describe the distorted human figure drawn to reflect the relative space our body parts occupy on the somatosensory cortex (sensory homunculus) and the motor cortex (motor homunculus). The lips, hands, feet and sex organs have more sensory neurons than other parts of the body, so the homunculus has correspondingly distortedly large lips, hands, feet, and genitals. Well known in the field of neurology, this is also commonly called ‘the little man inside the brain.’
18. Beachgirl says:

    October 22, 2007 at 10:36

    I saw the same animation last night on a show called “In the Living Body” on the National Geographic channel.
19. Alvaro says:

    October 24, 2007 at 8:17

    Hello Beachgirl: thanks for the head up!
20. Jazz says:

    November 6, 2007 at 8:40

    It is the species of man before evolving into homo sapeans
21. Alvaro says:

    November 6, 2007 at 7:48

    Hello Jazz, that would be quite funny check the animation and you’ll see what it is
22. LuiJirou says:

    December 8, 2007 at 11:11

    Would the size of some of Mr. Homunculus’ body parts change with age, skill level, or profession? Somehow, I picture Norm Abram having larger hands and Garrison Keillor having a bigger mouth. Sorry, Mr. Keillor. No pun intended.
23. Alvaro says:

    December 10, 2007 at 7:52

    Indeed, it would. A pianist would devote a larger area to receiving information from the fingers, and so on. That is the kind of research that Merzenich ad others did with monkeys, and saw clearly that effect. With humans there is of course less information, but enough data to suggest how it applies too
24. JANICE says:

    December 26, 2007 at 2:08

    funny, entertaining and definitely educational… no wonder my hands feel big,tee-hee…
25. Alvaro says:

    December 27, 2007 at 8:46

    especially your fingers!

    glad you enjoy the site.
26. adrian says:

    January 16, 2008 at 6:19

    the answer is hilarious
27. adriana says:

    February 22, 2008 at 6:32

    it is Penfield’s Homunculus it is an schematic design of the cortical representation of the motor area in the parietal lobe. I saw it in physiology.
28. Karyn says:

    June 20, 2008 at 3:44

    His name is Chudler.
29. Karyn says:

    June 20, 2008 at 3:49

    Homunculus is a figment of someone’s imagination.
30. Alvaro says:

    June 20, 2008 at 5:44

    Karyn: indeed.

    Chudler. James Chudler.
31. raja says:

    November 16, 2008 at 8:17

    he is the man
32. Birgi says:

    November 25, 2008 at 12:58

    Sensered
33. justin says:

    October 29, 2009 at 5:21

    this was a very weird picture
34. Abhishek Goyal says:

    November 6, 2009 at 1:22

    This is us. How your brain seen us. The most important part and sensitive part of our body appears bigger to brain then others which are less sensitive.