Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D.

Trauma May Be Inherited

by | Feb 27, 2014 | Life Ain't For Sissies, Personal Growth, Relationships | 0 comments

Many of you have already believed this to be true but, here is a study suggesting traumatic events that happen to a parent could be passed down through their genes photo (4)onto their children. This was a study done with mice so we have to be cautious but it is interesting to report.
The research:
1. Mice were conditioned to become afraid of a particular smell.
2. After awhile, the mice began to shudder in the presence of the smell.
3. Offspring were born and tested and they were also shown to be afraid of the smell, even though they had never been exposed to it.
 4. Grandmice showed the same fearful response.

This suggests that behaviors could be inherited through the genes. The mechanism for the transmission of this response appears to be through the mice’s sperm.

If this idea holds up in humans, it could help explain how conditions like phobias, alcoholism or anxiety could affect later generations.Perhaps scientists need to take a multigenerational approach.

 source: Nature Neuroscience. Dias and Ressler, 2013.

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