HollisCherry

ProfessorAlisonDavidson
Biology100
26August2015
ArticleAssignment4
1.Howdidtheresearchersteachtheoriginalmalemicetobecomeafraidofthesmellof
cherryblossoms?Whatwasthereactionoftheoffspringfromthesecherryfearingmale
micewhentheywerealsoexposedtothesmellofcherryblossoms?Didtheoffspring
everhavecontactwiththeircherryfearingfathers?

Theytaughtthemtobefearfulofthescentofcherryblossombyassociatingit

withamildfootshock.Theoffspringofthismousebecameanxiousandfearfulwhen
firstexposedtothesmellofcherryblossomseventhoughtheyhadnocontactwiththeir
father.Theywerebornwithmorecherrydetectingneuronsintheirnoseandbrain
devotedtosmellingthecherryblossoms.Thisisthoughttobepastdownfromthefather
throughgenetics.Thiswasalsopasseddowntothenextgenerationofoffspring.

2.(Worth3pointsI'mlookingforindepthdetailshere!)Researchershypothesizethat
thefearofcherrieswastransmittedbyepigenetic.Explainthistermtomeinyourown
words,drawingfromadditionalInternetsourcesifnecessary.
Inthecherryblossomexperiment,theoffspringhadmoreneuronsintheirnoseandbrain
devotedtowardsthedetectingofcherryblossoms.Thisishowwecanseethehypothesis
ofepigenetic.EpigeneticareDNAmarkersthatdeterminethereadingoftheDNA.Its

whattellseachcellwhattodo.Originallyitwasbelievedthatweinheritthesefromour
parentsbutatanearlystageitisreprogrammedandwedevelopourownepigenetic.
Epigeneticaredevelopedthroughoutlifethroughtraumaticandeverydayexperiences.
Theycannotbeseensoitishardtodetermineunlessitisacontrolledexperiencelikethe
cherryblossomexperiment.

3.OurDNAremainsunchangedthroughoutourlives(exceptforanymutationsthat
mightoccur).Doourepigeneticmarkerschangethroughoutourlives?Howarethey
passeddowntoouroffspring?
EpigeneticareinheritedasDNAmarkersbutwerethoughttobereprogrammedandare
erasedthroughoutourearlystagesoflife.OurbodythenpicksupnewEpigenetic
throughourlivesasweinteractwithoursurroundingenvironmentbuttheyarefinding
nowthatsomeoftheoriginalepigeneticmaybestayingwithus.Todaywearelooking
moreintotheidealikeinthemiceexperiment.Someepigeneticmaynotbeerasedand
wecouldholdanepigeneticfromourparentsourwholelifeandevenpassitontoouroff
spring.Theybelievethatsomeepigeneticmaybemoredominantthanotherjustlikea
dominantgeneandsomemorerecessive,likearecessivegene.

4.Howrecentlyhasthisnewfieldofepigeneticbecomeacceptedscientifically?
Withinthepastdecadeepigenetichasblossomedasitusedtobemorecontroversial,
provingthematterisalotharderthough.Theymuststudythemeasureofchangesin
behavioramongthetestsubjects.

5.Inadditiontofearingthesmellofcherries,theoffspringalsoshowedneurological
changeswhatspecificallywerethese?
Theydevelopedmoreneuronsinthebrainandnose,whichweredevotedspecificallyto
smellingofcherryblossoms.

6.Howdoresearchersthinkepigeneticmightaffecthumanphysiology?

Scientistbelievesthatmanyouractionsandreactionsmaybepasseddown

throughgenerationsjustlikeyoureyecolororheight.Todaytheyarelookingmoreinto
theideaofepigeneticastheymayhaveabiggerroleonoffspringthenoriginally
thought.

7.(Worth2pointsagain,I'mlookingforspecificdetails)Therehavebeenseveralother
compellingstudieslookingatpossibleeffectsofepigeneticonanimalphysiologyor
memory,includinginhumans.Findanewsreportaboutoneotherepigeneticstudyor
hypothesis,andtellmeaboutit.BesuretoincludeyourInternetlinks!
I was able to look more in depth at the idea of epigenetic pertaining to
PDSD. They have used several techniques to look more into this
hypothesis. The first was by looking at alkylation patterns among other
biological reactions. Through this they are able to tell the change in
patterns between one before war and after war. Another way of looking
at this was focused on reactions during therapy, basically by a series of

questions and viewing their personal reactions and chemical reactions.

They are now looking to see if this epigenetic inheritance could lead to
a resulting PDSD in off spring. They have begun to see that it may not
be particular PDSD but more of the stress and anxiety pertaining to
offsprings. I enjoyed this article because I have had many family
members in the service that have experienced severe PDSD.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4116797/)

Work Cited
Roth, Tania L. "How Traumatic Experiences Leave Their Signature on
the Genome: An Overview of Epigenetic Pathways in PTSD."
Frontiers in Psychiatry. Frontiers Media S.A., n.d. Web. 26 Feb.
2015.