Mutations Disrupt Touch-Based Learning, Study Finds

You may scarcely notice it, but much of what you do every day requires your brain to engage in perceptual learning. To safely cross an intersection or quickly retrieve something from your bag, you depend upon your brain to first assign meaning to sensory input from your eyes or fingertips.

Usually, it’s effortless.

Research from The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology shows a gene called Syngap1 enables touch-based perception, while certain mutations can lead to mixed signals. The research was made possible through grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, both part of the National Institutes of Health.

Read more about Mutations Disrupt Touch-Based Learning, Study Finds.