The experience gained in childhood affects the whole life of a person
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Scientists from the University of British Columbia and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics have studied the effects of sex, stress, life experience and socioeconomic status on human genomes.
The results of the study of specialists are published in the journal Proceedings on the National Academy of Science.
Scientists have tried to determine how great the impact of the environment and the conditions in which a person is born, and how the future destiny determines the first years of life.
Specialists turned to epigenetics, a science that examines changes in gene expression. As is known, the blinding of DNA molecules in human genomes leads to the selective inclusion and deactivation of genes. Experts found that this process is influenced by the experience gained by a person in childhood.
"There is a correlation between the changes in chemical markers and the psychological, social, and physical characteristics of a person," said lead author Dr. Michael Kobor. - People who experienced poverty from their own experience have a level of DNA blending different from the level observed in people who have grown up in a safe environment and who have not experienced all the pleasures of poverty. And this is despite the fact that people who grew up in different conditions achieved equal socio-economic status. "
This means that the experience gained in early childhood leaves a trace in the molecular structure of DNA, which means that it reflects on the behavior and way of thinking of an adult. This effect is due to the fact that the nature of the felting is directly related to the nature of the expression of various genes.
The amount of stress hormones that is produced in adults also affects the nature of DNA blending, but it is certain that what happened before was a chicken or an egg - that is, whether stress is the determining factor in blasting, or it is natural chemical marking that affects the production of stress hormones Is impossible.
Dr. Kobor and his colleagues also found that melting can predict future immune responses, that is, life experience plays an important role in the body's response to illness in the future.