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Genetic sensitivity to the environment, across lifetime.

Judith R Homberg¹

¹Donders 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

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences

|October 26, 2012

Summary

Environmental factors during development impact genomic plasticity, complicating nature versus nurture debates. This complexity is further amplified as genotype influences environmental sensitivity and the genome changes throughout life.

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Area of Science:

Behavioral genetics
Epigenetics
Developmental neuroscience

Background:

The nature versus nurture debate is a long-standing discussion in understanding behavior.
Genomic plasticity, particularly early in life, challenges clear distinctions between genetic and environmental influences on behavior.
Charney's work highlights perinatal environmental influences on genomic plasticity.

Purpose of the Study:

To expand upon Charney's argument regarding genomic plasticity and its impact on behavioral attribution.
To introduce additional complexities to the nature versus nurture discussion.
To emphasize the dynamic nature of the genome throughout an organism's lifespan.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis and argumentation.
Integration of existing research on genotype-environment interactions.
Discussion of ongoing genomic modification.

Main Results:

Perinatal environmental influences on genomic plasticity complicate behavioral attribution.
Genotype significantly modulates an individual's sensitivity to environmental stimuli.
The genome remains plastic and subject to modification across the entire lifespan.

Conclusions:

The interplay between genes and environment in shaping behavior is more intricate than previously suggested.
Understanding behavior requires considering both early-life and ongoing genomic and environmental interactions.
Future research should account for lifelong genomic modifications and genotype-specific environmental responses.