http://www.neurobio.ucla.edu/~lmp/Meaney.pdf
This is a fascinating article in the journal, Nature Neuroscience, titled "Epigenetic Programming by Maternal Behavior." As quoted from the book, "Survival of the Sickest," by Dr. Moalem, a professor at McGill University, Michael Meaney, published a study "that showed that the interaction between mothers and their offspring AFTER birth provoked the placement of methyl markers that caused significant epigenetic changes. . . Pups that were gently licked were relatively relaxed and could handle stressful situations. But rats that were ignored by their mothers grew into nervous wrecks. . . . Those on the nature side would argue that rat moms with bad social skills passed on their emotionally troubled genes to rat babies that grew up to have bad social skills, while the well-adjusted rats gave their babies well-adjusted genes. (comment: exact conclusion in articles that note some autistic children have mothers with weak social skills) . . except Meaney and his colleages pulled a mate-and-switch. They gave babies from standoffish mothers to loving mothers and vice versa. Pups that were fawned over grew to be calm regardless of their mother's behavior. . . An analysis of the rats' genes showed striking differences in methylation patterns betwen the two sets of rats. Rat pups that were attentively groomed by their mothers (biological or adopted) showed a decrease in methyl markers around the genes involved with brain development. The mothers' gentle attention somehow triggered the removal of methyl markers that would have otherwise blocked or impeded the development of a part of their babies' brains. . .the part that dampened the stress response was more developed in these babies. . . .Meaney's paper was another epigenetic blockbuster. Something as simple as parental grooming was changing the expression of a living animal's genetic code . . a notion that some people had a hard time accepting. One reviewr at a prominent journal actually went so far as to write that, despite the researcher's carefully marshaled evidence, he refused to believe it could be true. It just wasn't supposed to happen like that. But it does." Food for thought to say the least. The research in epigenetics is one of the most exciting new areas for understanding animal and human behaviors. Joan Joan Warmbold Boggs [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
