Sense of Touch May Begin in the Womb Itself

Sense of Touch May Begin in the Womb Itself

The sense of touch may evolve with in the womb itself and not after a child is born. The finding is based on a study in mice during embryonic stages of development.

The study done by Institute of Neurosciences of Alicante of ISIC in Spain, revealed that the basic wiring for development of sense of touch begins while at the embryonic stage itself. And it is ready by the time the baby is born. It was found that the sensory map for sense of touch was created much before the mice was born.

The finding was based on a study of cortical barrels by looking at slices of brain at various stages of development. The sense of touch is developed on the basis of electrical signals sent from cerebral cortex to the thalamus.

The research finding although related to mice nevertheless points to the need to have take better care during pregnancy period as not only the major organs but also the sensory map may be evolved in the embryonic stage itself.

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2019/05/01/science.aav7617