The following is an excerpt from the Neuroscience For Kids newsletter.

The Homunculus Mapper web site was created by members of Dr. David Fitzpatrick’s laboratory at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. The site describes the classic two-point discrimination experiment, but gives it twist by allowing people to visually display their results graphically.

First, follow the step-by-step instructions to map the sensitivity of different parts of your body. You will create cards with toothpicks separated by different distances that will allow you to test whether one or two points are detected. Keep track of the distances when someone says that they only feel one point even though two toothpick points touched their skin. After you have collected your data, go back to the main page and select a model. Enter your data for the different parts of the body to see how the sensitivity of different parts of your body is mapped to your brain. You can even print out your final “homunculus.”