Active touch is thought to require the integration of somatosensory and motor systems. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying perception of active touch. In previous studies, we showed that the hindlimb region of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1HL) and the higher-order motor cortex form a reverberant circuit that is activated during hindlimb stimulation. We also showed that optogenetic inactivation of inputs from the motor area to S1HL causes inaccurate somatic perception in behaving mice. These results suggest that motor input to the sensory area is necessary for perception and that somatomotor integration occurs in the sensory area. In order to test this, we developed a multidisciplinary approach that would allow us to record and manipulate neural activity in behaving animals. We designed a virtual reality system where tactile stimulation could be delivered to mice while they were running through a simulated environment. The heads of the mice were fixed so that we could record and manipulate neural activity during the simulation. We present this system in detail along with the physiological recordings obtained from the S1HL during tactile stimulation.