Any changes in the genes or genetic material (DNA or RNA) are known as mutations. The mutations can be of two types: germline or genetic and somatic.
Studies have described genetic mutations as inherited mutations as they pass from generation to generation. This type of mutation mainly occurs in germ cells such as eggs and sperm. Whereas somatic mutations occur in any other body cell except eggs and sperm. Somatic mutation is localised as it affects only the tissue associated with that cell function that has undergone a mutation. The rest of the body is not affected.
After fertilisation, the first cell divides into two. If, at this juncture, a somatic mutation occurs in one of the divided cells, then only half of the body cells will carry the mutation says Dr Chris Walsh, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital USA, in a statement. “If it occurs in one of the first four cells, it will be present in about a quarter of the cells of the body, and so on,” he explains.
The infographic below explains their role in the development of neurological conditions.
Read more: A peek into the diverse world of neurons
Read more: Neurons: the building blocks of brain
Read more: Synapse: how neurons communicate
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