Genetic Tags Can Pass Trauma From One Generation to the Next

This study makes it clear that epigenetic tags can be passed from one generation to the other. Yehuda said that this presents researchers with "an opportunity to learn a lot of important things about how we adapt to our environment and how we might pass on environmental resilience." Recent research at Cambridge University found that some tags are still present following fertilization of an egg by sperm. While genes are obviously transmitted during reproduction, how tags that are unique to a parent's traumatic experience can influence the genetic information of their children remains a mystery. It has already been shown in animal studies that fears may be inherited by future generations. At Emory University in Atlanta, mice were trained to be scared of the smell of cherry blossom by being given an electric shock at the same time they exposed to the scent. The offspring of these mice were also scared of the smell, despite never having encountered it before, and so were their offspring. However the offspring of mice that had been trained to be fearful of a different smell, or that had not been trained at all, showed no fear of the cherry blossom smell. The sperm from the fearful mice had different epigenetic tags on the gene that controlled the brain's smell receptors, and their offspring had more smell receptors for cherry blossom in their brains. With each new research finding, it becomes apparent how strong the effects of traumatic experiences can be in both brain and b...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news