Primary sensory cortices are anatomically organized according to physical distance

Sensations from the surface of the skin, which physically divides what is internal versus external to our bodies, also divides the cerebral cortex into front and back. The sensory cortices are anatomically organized in a way that reflects our conception of a physical internal/external spatial continuum, such that as we move more posterior in the brain, we find sensory domains that attend further out in physical space. This framework suggests physical space is an organizing principal for both conscious experience and brain anatomy.