Epigenetic effects of diet, chemicals, and other severe stresses

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.

 

About James V. Kohl 1308 Articles
James Vaughn Kohl was the first to accurately conceptualize human pheromones, and began presenting his findings to the scientific community in 1992. He continues to present to, and publish for, diverse scientific and lay audiences, while constantly monitoring the scientific presses for new information that is relevant to the development of his initial and ongoing conceptualization of human pheromones. Recently, Kohl integrated scientific evidence that pinpoints the evolved neurophysiological mechanism that links olfactory/pheromonal input to genes in hormone-secreting cells of tissue in a specific area of the brain that is primarily involved in the sensory integration of olfactory and visual input, and in the development of human sexual preferences. His award-winning 2007 article/book chapter on multisensory integration: The Mind’s Eyes: Human pheromones, neuroscience, and male sexual preferences followed an award winning 2001 publication: Human pheromones: integrating neuroendocrinology and ethology, which was coauthored by disinguished researchers from Vienna. Rarely do researchers win awards in multiple disciplines, but Kohl’s 2001 award was for neuroscience, and his 2007 “Reiss Theory” award was for social science. Kohl has worked as a medical laboratory scientist since 1974, and he has devoted more than twenty-five years to researching the relationship between the sense of smell and the development of human sexual preferences. Unlike many researchers who work with non-human subjects, medical laboratory scientists use the latest technology from many scientific disciplines to perform a variety of specialized diagnostic medical testing on people. James V. Kohl is certified with: * American Society for Clinical Pathology * American Medical Technologists James V. Kohl is a member of: * Society for Neuroscience * Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology * Association for Chemoreception Sciences * Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality * International Society for Human Ethology * American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science * Mensa, the international high IQ society