A study by researchers at McGill University studied the epigenetic effects of maternal nurturing in rats. Check out the information in the following link, including the animations and video: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/rats/
What does maternal nurturing in the first week of a rats life do to the epigenome of these rats?
a. What gene does it affect?
The GR gene.
b. How does it affect the gene?
By being nurtured, the baby rats will release a chemical in their brain that removes methyl groups from the GR gene which in turn, turns the gene on. Low nurturing correlates with a weak chemical response. With the weak chemical response, the chemical response isn’t enough to turn the GR gene on.
c. What happens in the brain cells of high nurtured vs. low nurtured rats?
In the hippocampus of the brain, GR proteins are being produced. In this part of the brain, GR production depends on how much the pup is nurtured. When the GR gene is not turned on, there are only small amounts of GR protein in the hippocampus; this can be found in low nurtured rats. In high nurtured rats, the GR gene is turned on and produces more GR proteins. Cortisol is released and the GR proteins act as receptors for it. The more receptors you have in the hippocampus, the less time it will take for you to de-stress. When the cortisol and the GR proteins bind, this releases a calming signal. The more GR proteins the easier it will be for the rats to release a calming signal.
Next, watch the video and read the information in the following link:
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/brain/
a. How is this study similar to the rat licking study?
These studies are similar because they both involve epigenetics. In both cases, it is the same gene that is being affected within the same part of the brain. Both cases involve a subject who is either abused or neglected and causing the same brain response, which affects the expression of the same gene within a specific part of the brain.
b. Describe the data that show an epigenetic effect of child abuse.
In suicide and child abuse victims, the expression of rRNA is reduced in the hippocampus and have a specific methylation on their GR gene. Abused victims have a lower amount of GR proteins, and have a higher amount of methyl groups. This means there is a different in the expression of the rRNA. The study proved that only the suicide victims, who have also been victims of child abuse, have a tag on their GR gene. The gene is turned on or off based on the amount of nurturing the child received.
c. How might child abuse victims be treated in the future to prevent the high risk of associated suicide?
The correlation among these two studies allows us to hypothetically come up with a treatment for victims of child abuse based on the experiment performed with the rats. In the rats they injected their brains with a chemical that removed methyl groups. The removal of the methyl groups allows the GR gene to be turned on causes GR proteins to be produced in the hippocampus of the brain. Therefore if a victim of child abuse were to release large amounts of cortisol, they could synthesize the GR proteins faster, and may not commit suicide.
A study of 2,685 twin pairs showed that female identical twins are six times as likely as female non-identical twins to both have alcoholism. Does this finding suggest a large genetic or environmental component to alcoholism? This suggests a genetic component to alcoholism. EXPLAIN identical twins come from same egg = same genetic makeup.
Emerging evidence suggests that genomic function can be modulated by alcohol-induced epigenetic modification of histones (acetylation and methylation) and DNA methylation, which can lead to the development of alcoholism. Does this finding suggest a large genetic or environmental component to alcoholism? This would be an environmental component. So, which of these studies about alcoholism is right?
Both are correct because they both have statistical data to support their claims = alcoholism has both a genetical component and an environmental component.
What does maternal nurturing in the first week of a rats life do to the epigenome of these rats?
a. What gene does it affect?
The GR gene.
b. How does it affect the gene?
By being nurtured, the baby rats will release a chemical in their brain that removes methyl groups from the GR gene which in turn, turns the gene on. Low nurturing correlates with a weak chemical response. With the weak chemical response, the chemical response isn’t enough to turn the GR gene on.
c. What happens in the brain cells of high nurtured vs. low nurtured rats?
In the hippocampus of the brain, GR proteins are being produced. In this part of the brain, GR production depends on how much the pup is nurtured. When the GR gene is not turned on, there are only small amounts of GR protein in the hippocampus; this can be found in low nurtured rats. In high nurtured rats, the GR gene is turned on and produces more GR proteins. Cortisol is released and the GR proteins act as receptors for it. The more receptors you have in the hippocampus, the less time it will take for you to de-stress. When the cortisol and the GR proteins bind, this releases a calming signal. The more GR proteins the easier it will be for the rats to release a calming signal.
Next, watch the video and read the information in the following link:
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/brain/
a. How is this study similar to the rat licking study?
These studies are similar because they both involve epigenetics. In both cases, it is the same gene that is being affected within the same part of the brain. Both cases involve a subject who is either abused or neglected and causing the same brain response, which affects the expression of the same gene within a specific part of the brain.
b. Describe the data that show an epigenetic effect of child abuse.
In suicide and child abuse victims, the expression of rRNA is reduced in the hippocampus and have a specific methylation on their GR gene. Abused victims have a lower amount of GR proteins, and have a higher amount of methyl groups. This means there is a different in the expression of the rRNA. The study proved that only the suicide victims, who have also been victims of child abuse, have a tag on their GR gene. The gene is turned on or off based on the amount of nurturing the child received.
c. How might child abuse victims be treated in the future to prevent the high risk of associated suicide?
The correlation among these two studies allows us to hypothetically come up with a treatment for victims of child abuse based on the experiment performed with the rats. In the rats they injected their brains with a chemical that removed methyl groups. The removal of the methyl groups allows the GR gene to be turned on causes GR proteins to be produced in the hippocampus of the brain. Therefore if a victim of child abuse were to release large amounts of cortisol, they could synthesize the GR proteins faster, and may not commit suicide.
A study of 2,685 twin pairs showed that female identical twins are six times as likely as female non-identical twins to both have alcoholism. Does this finding suggest a large genetic or environmental component to alcoholism? This suggests a genetic component to alcoholism. EXPLAIN identical twins come from same egg = same genetic makeup.
Emerging evidence suggests that genomic function can be modulated by alcohol-induced epigenetic modification of histones (acetylation and methylation) and DNA methylation, which can lead to the development of alcoholism. Does this finding suggest a large genetic or environmental component to alcoholism? This would be an environmental component. So, which of these studies about alcoholism is right?
Both are correct because they both have statistical data to support their claims = alcoholism has both a genetical component and an environmental component.