Touch and sight are linked before birth

In embryonic stages, tactile stimuli simultaneously activate tactile and visual neural pathways. Shortly after birth, both pathways reorganize to allow separate processing of touch and vision. Waves of activity emitted by the retina around birth drives the separation of touch and sight, according to a study by the UMH-CSIC Neurosciences Institute published today in Science. This separation occurs in a brain structure called the superior colliculus that acts as a distributor of neural circuits or pathways. Any delay in the development of this separation causes an incorrect organization of visual circuits that is maintained in adult life.