Motherly Love: Nature's Backup Plan

As we learn more about the human genome we begin to grasp the power that our individual genetic coding has on regulation of our bodies.  This amazing process begins with development as a fetus and continues throughout our lives.  While the code itself changes very little, with the exception of radical mutations, it regulates a sometimes dramatically changing body in diverse environments.  It is quite amazing how all these different situations are controlled by a 3 billion letter code packaged into almost every single cell in our body.  It is truly fascinating!

While the influence of DNA of an individual is far reaching, the environment in which they live can be as equally far reaching.  Here we enter the age old argument of Nature Vs. Nurture.  How much of us is an animal driven by evolutionary precedents and programming, and how much is a product of our environment, upbringing, diet, emotions, etc.  I would answer that question with a resounding YES!  Just as the physical world has certain rules that can be seen in everyday life, the biological functions of our bodies follow similar rules.  For example, if you inject epinephrine (adrenaline) into someones blood stream, they will always exhibit certain changes to their physiology (increased heart rate, dilation of pupils, etc) due to the epinephrine binding to certain receptors.  This will happen despite the will or desire of the individual.  The brain, however, also has amazing control over the systems of the body.  The placebo effect is a perfect example of this.  Even when an individual is receiving nothing but a sugar pill, but think that they are getting a miracle drug, the body has been shown to significantly heal/change/improve, with no empirical evidence or explanation.  While this may seem miraculous, it is due to the brain controlling release of hormones, factors or other reactive molecules.

While the brain is still using natural/biological means in order to achieve the "miraculous" or unpredictable change it illustrates the power of the mind and the implications of placing that power in an unstable environment.  The stability or instability of ones environment can even alter the physical make up of the person's body.  Smoking, second hand smoke, or even extended exposure to pollution has been shown to mutate ones DNA, cause or significantly worsen disease, and lead to increased death rates.  This is a fairly obvious example, but what about growing up in an abusive household, or malnourished as a infant, child or teen?  While that can obviously effect ones state of mind and psyche, can it actually change their gene expression and influence behavior?

There was a study that examined the composition of the genomes in brains of suicide victims who grew up in abusive environments compared to suicide victims who were not abused as children and people who died by means other than suicide.  What they found was that the gene expression was altered in those from abusive backgrounds.  It was altered specifically at a gene that would make them more susceptible to cortisol, also known as the stress hormone.  With this altered susceptibility to stress, they also exhibited a higher prevalence of psychoses and suicide than those not abused as children.  This change in expression was due to alteration in what is known as the Epigenome.  

Epigenetics is essentially the study of the winding and packaging of the genome such that certain genes are more or less accessible.  While the genome is not changed directly, its influence can be altered by changing the epigenome.  While not entirely known and understood, the epigenome has been repeatedly shown to become altered through interactions with the environment.  This has been shown extensively with nutrition in the pre-, peri- and post-natal child.  Restriction of diets at these crucial developmental times leads to a higher prevalence of diseases like diabetes and cardiopulmonary disease. Conversely, those with detrimental genes may be protected by epigenetic alterations caused by motherly nurturing.

The implications of this are amazing.  First, that through our environment we can be physically changed and alter our behavior differently from what it might have been.  Second, that mothers have been our source of correcting problems long before we decided to wear mismatching clothes.  Whether that is planning from a higher power, providence, Karma or simply an evolutionary mechanism it is impossible to argue its importance.  So, go home, hug your mom, and thank her for the protection that she has afforded your.