The Switches that can turn mental illness on and off
Imagine, instead of the nice sheltered, educated life you have today was instead a life in Africa starving, or during the bubonic plague, or as an orphan. All these things can change who you are today. The DNA of a person contains an epigenetic code, which is methyl groups and coiling proteins that make an organism what it is, along with silent and awake genes, which can be changed by certain experiences in one's life. Neurologists tested this on two rats of the same litter; one with the mother's care and one without. Results of the two's behavioral instincts were different. The one who received all the attention(we'll call him Mr. Attention or Rat-A for short) was very curious, loved to explore and was not easily startled, contrasting to the one who was neglected(we'll call him Mr. Neglect or Rat-N for short) and ended up being easily startled, had a tendency to suffer a surge of stress hormones, and had a reluctance to explore new places. The beginning of the two rats altered the epigenetic marks on the DNA, which changed whether certain behaviors were turned on or off. Since the epigenetic marks can be changed from one generation to the next through childhood experiences, doesn't that mean that behavioral traits are technically passed from one generation to the next through actions of the parental generation? if not, why?Like an abused child, a neglected rat shows signs of nervousness, being uncertain about one's
surroundings, etc. The behaviors of the future generation will also carry this nervousness, but their upbringing can change the epigenetic marks on their DNA as well. Recently, there have been some studies of over-studious students, who go through their math homework five times, have extra tutors on the side to help them, and whose parents make them cram all the information in, all this plus the extra curricular activities that will look good on a college transcript such as being able to play the chello, a sport, etc.This second generation of children might look back and think that they do not want their children to
have a life like that so then the next generation of parents do not cram their children with tons of activities, do not force them to do their homework a million times, but still want them to do well in school. The third generation of children, sometimes not always, believing that they did not get the best most studious beginning, wanting the best for their child, will try and create a better upbringing than the one they had, by doing the same thing as the first generation of parents. Each generation of children is reacting to their childhood(and epigenetic changes from on to off, or off to on) by changing the way the next generations childhood (and behaviors for the future) will change through a difference in the next generations childhood(and epigenetic marks). If a person's behavior can be different with a different childhood experience, then isn't it impossible for one generation of alcoholics to pass the genes on to the next generation, when the next generation is orphaned? Even though that still confuses many people today, are behaviors passed on through genes or actions, the evidence shown here will help you make your decision.Resources
Zimmer, Carl. "The Switches That Can Turn Mental Illness On and Off."
Discoer: science, technology, and the future. Kalmback. Publishing Co.,
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