Several studies have addressed the differences between active and passive touch using a number of methods but no consensus exists concerning the superiority of one exploration type over another. This work aims to investigate the brain correlates of active and passive touch in a roughness discrimination task. Subjects performed a roughness estimation task in two different conditions: in the active touch (AT) condition subjects actively explored a surface with their finger, whereas in the passive touch (PT) condition the surface moved under the subject’s finger. The stimuli consisted of three different grades of sandpaper. Behavioural results revealed that roughness estimations were less accurate for the medium surface than for either the smooth or rough surfaces. Preliminary analysis of the functional data shows wider activation in the somato-motor regions for the AP condition. Overlapping brain regions for the AT and PT conditions, include somatosensory, cognitive and limbic regions. Only the ACC/pre-SMA shows a difference between the two conditions, with stronger activation for AT than for PT. This difference might be due to execution of the movement during the AT condition. Preliminary investigations suggest that neural differences between active and passive explorations are manifest in the more cognitive areas of the brain.