British family’s problems hint at a gene involved in linking language and meaning

ByEd Yong
June 19, 2012

We’ve all had that annoying feeling when we fail to find a word that’s just at the tip of our tongues. Usually, these moments are passing nuisances, but they are a more severe impediment for a British family known as JR. Eight of them suffer from an unusual problem with “semantic cognition” – the ability to bind words to their meanings during thought or communication.

They can’t remember words, names, or topics of conversation – all of us get this, but the JR family experiences a more extreme version. They make errors in everyday conversations when they use words with related meanings in the wrong places. Their comprehension falters to the extent that reading books or following films is hard work.

These difficulties have caused them much social anxiety, and hampered their ability to cope with school and work. But for scientists, they are undeniably exciting because they seem to stem from a single errant gene. If that’s the case, the gene apparently affects the intertwining of concepts and language, but not any other mental abilities – the affected family members are otherwise intelligent and articulate. The JR family could lead us to new insights about language, thought and memory, just as similar families have done in the past.

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