Final answer:
The parietal lobe processes sensory inputs like touch, temperature, and proprioception, and through the dorsal stream, it influences motor responses to these sensory inputs. Double simultaneous stimulation can be used to assess the function of the parietal lobe. Damage to this lobe can impair touch perception and body movement awareness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The steps in the monkey example of the parietal region involve the processing of sensory information such as touch, pressure, and temperature, as well as proprioception—the sense of how parts of the body are oriented in space. The parietal lobe contains the primary somatosensory cortex, which is responsible for processing these sensations. Information processed here is sent to the ventral and dorsal streams, with the dorsal stream entering the parietal lobe and interacting with somatosensory cortical areas. This influences the frontal lobe where motor functions originate, consequently guiding movements of the body in response to visual inputs.
Double simultaneous stimulation is a test that can assess damage to the parietal lobe. If during this test the sensation on one side of the body is not perceived while a stimulus is applied to both sides simultaneously, it may indicate damage to the contralateral posterior parietal lobe. This could affect perception of touch and the position and movement of body parts.