Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T02:00:47.213Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Genetic sensitivity to the environment, across lifetime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2012

Judith R. Homberg*
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6525 EZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands. j.homberg@cns.umcn.nl

Abstract

The target article by Charney convincingly argues that genomic plasticity perinatally induced by the environment creates a complication in determining which parts of behavior are attributed to nature and which to nurture. I argue that real life is even more complex because (1) genotype influences sensitivity to environmental stimuli, and (2) the genome continues to be modified throughout life.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anstey, M. L., Rogers, S. M., Ott, S. R., Burrows, M. & Simpson, S. J. (2009) Serotonin mediates behavioral gregarization underlying swarm formation in desert locusts. Science 323(5914):627–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Caspers, K. & Philibert, R. (2011) DRD4 genotype moderates the impact of parental problems on unresolved loss or trauma. Attachment and Human Development 13(3):253–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beach, S. R., Brody, G. H., Lei, M. K. & Philibert, R. A. (2010) Differential susceptibility to parenting among African American youths: Testing the DRD4 hypothesis. Journal of Family Psychology 24(5):513–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Belsky, J., Jonassaint, C., Pluess, M., Stanton, M., Brummett, B. & Williams, R. (2009) Vulnerability genes or plasticity genes? Molecular Psychiatry 14(8):746–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boerjan, B., Sas, F., Ernst, U. R., Tobback, J., Lemiere, F., Vandegehuchte, M. B., Janssen, C. R., Badisco, L., Marchal, E., Verlinden, H., Schoofs, L. & De Loof, A.. (2011) Locust phase polyphenism: Does epigenetic precede endocrine regulation? General and Comparative Endocrinology 173(1):120–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feinberg, A. P. (2007) Phenotypic plasticity and the epigenetics of human disease. Nature 447(7143):433–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, Y. I., Fa, M., Ashraf, H., Zhang, H., Staniszewski, A., Latchman, D. S. & Arancio, O. (2009) Dysregulation of histone acetylation in the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 18(1):131–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Homberg, J. R. & Lesch, K. P. (2010) Looking on the bright side of serotonin transporter gene variation. Biological Psychiatry 69(6):513–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lubin, F. D., Roth, T. L. & Sweatt, J. D. (2008) Epigenetic regulation of BDNF gene transcription in the consolidation of fear memory. Journal of Neuroscience 28(42):10576–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, C., Notterman, D., Brooks-Gunn, J., Hobcraft, J., Garfinkel, I., Jaeger, K., Kotenko, I. & McLanahan, S. (2011) Role of mother's genes and environment in postpartum depression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 108(20):8189–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monroe, S. M. & Simons, A. D. (1991) Diathesis-stress theories in the context of life stress research: Implications for the depressive disorders. Psychological Bulletin 110(3):406–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stafford, J. M., Raybuck, J. D., Ryabinin, A. E. & Lattal, K. M. (2012) Increasing Histone acetylation in the hippocampus-infralimbic network enhances fear extinction. Biological Psychiatry 72(1):2533.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Caspers, K., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Beach, S. R. & Philibert, R. (2010) Methylation matters: Interaction between methylation density and serotonin transporter genotype predicts unresolved loss or trauma. Biological Psychiatry 68(5):405407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilkinson, M. B., Xiao, G., Kumar, A., LaPlant, Q., Renthal, W., Sikder, D., Kodadek, T. J. & Nestler, E. J. (2009) Imipramine treatment and resiliency exhibit similar chromatin regulation in the mouse nucleus accumbens in depression models. Journal of Neuroscience 29(24):7820–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed