The structure in the brain that gives the perception of time - Biotech. The brain perceives the passage of time thanks to the same structure that controls the sensation of touch. The discovery is thanks to a group from the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste, coordinated by Mathew Diamond. The key to beginning to explore this network of relationships is in the use of light. The discovery was possible thanks to research conducted on rats using optogenetics, the technique that allows the activity of neurons to be modulated using light. The brain perceives the passage of time thanks to the same structure that controls the sensation of touch: it is possible thanks to the dual function of the area of the brain called the somatosensory cortex. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the discovery is thanks to the group from the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste, coordinated by Mathew Diamond.