All our experiences are marked in our organism. For many, I am sure that a good memory of a special date, filled with sounds, colors, sensations, and smells, or even a glance directed at a mark on the body, resulting from some childhood extravagance, quickly comes to mind.
It has been widely discussed that situations experienced at a younger age culminate in interventions in the formation of neural networks in adults and in behavioral changes (“How experiences affect children and adolescents,” by Maria Cristina Valzachi). Furthermore, a stressful situation experienced in childhood, triggered, for example, by postpartum depression, can impair the neurobiological and psychological development of children, resulting in behavioral changes in adulthood (“Happy mom – healthy child,” by Vania Talarico).
But how does this biological incorporation of experiences occur?
There are small marks in the DNA of children early in their lives that can result in modifications capable of altering the future phenotype of these adults. These modifications are caused by exposures to various situations related to both social behaviors and the mother's mood during pregnancy, maternal affection after birth, stress, as well as socioeconomic and nutritional status in early life, and even abuse. The likely culprit for the biological incorporation of these experiences is epigenetics. Just to remind you, this name refers to molecular interventions that occur in the genome and can alter the individual's phenotype. The most intriguing part is that such changes resulting from environmental influence in the early stages of our lives can alter who we will be as adults.
To understand the importance of epigenetics in biology, some words from Prof. Moshe Szyf, one of the pioneers in the field of epigenetics, are worth noting: “We cannot understand biology and medicine without considering the social, economic, and perhaps even political environment. Humans cannot be reduced to a single cell, and we cannot separate people from their environments.”
Therefore, environmental and social factors do not just cause pinpoint modifications in our cells, skin, organs, or psychological state; far beyond that, they leave marks that can generate even behavioral differences among individuals. Various studies have emerged in this line carefully discussing associations and correlations between these parameters.
And that is why we will delve into something so complex in our upcoming texts, where maternal experiences during pregnancy can not only alter the social behavior of the future baby but also the response patterns of cells in their immune system.
Until then!
References:
Interview available at: http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2009/04/moshe-szyf-james-mcgill-professor-of-pharmacology-and-therapeutics/
Szyf M, Meaney MJ. Epigenetics, behaviour, and health. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2008 Mar 15;4(1):37-49. Epub 2008 Mar 15.
Maria Cristina Valzachi. How experiences affect children and adolescents. Natura Campus Science and Innovation Blog, September 20, 2012.
Vania Talarico. Happy mom – healthy child. Natura Campus Science and Innovation Blog, October 29, 2012.
