Epigenetic effects of diet, chemicals, and other severe stresses

By: James V. Kohl | Published on: April 6, 2013

Trait vs. Fate” in the May 2013 issue of Discover magazine [subscription required]
Excerpt (with my emphasis): “If diet and chemicals can cause epigenetic changes [epigenetic effects], could certain experiences — child neglect, drug abuse or other severe stresses also set off epigenetic changes to the DNA inside the neurons of a person’s brain?”
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My comment (February 2013): Nutrient-dependent / Pheromone-controlled Adaptive Evolution [open access]
This model of systems biology [and epigenetic effects] represents the conservation of bottom-up organization and top-down activation via:
Nutrient stress-induced and social stress-induced intracellular changes in the microRNA (miRNA) / messenger RNA (mRNA) balance;
Intermolecular changes in DNA (genes) and alternative splicing;
Non-random experience-dependent stochastic variations in de novo gene expression and biosynthesis of odor receptors;
The required gene-cell-tissue-organ-organ system pathway that links sensory input directly to gene activation in neurosecretory cells and to miRNA-facilitated learning and memory in the amygdala of the adaptively evolved mammalian brain;
The required reciprocity that links gene expression to behavior that alters gene expression (i.e., reciprocity from genes to behavior and back) in model organisms like the honeybee.
 

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