Intellectual disability (ID) is a major medical and socioeconomic problem. An EU-funded study explored some genes that lead to ID and their effects on brain functioning.
ID has many causes, both environmental and genetic. Scientists have made much progress in identifying genes – as many as 100 – that lead to ID. The project MERE-GLU (Mental retardation: Harnessing the glutamate hypofunction hypothesis) identified genes contributing to ID. Researchers were then able to identify which parts of the brain these genes affect.
Further information: Genes leading to intellectual disability