Figure 13 - uploaded by Michael Pluess
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1 graphical illustration of two important epigenetic mechanisms: dna methylation and histone modification.
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... mechanisms, on the other hand, determine when and where the genes will produce mRNA which encode the proteins. Epigenetic mechanisms include several biochemical processes that act at different levels (this chapter will cover mainly chromatin modification and DNA methylation, see Figure 13.1). The DNA molecule is packaged in chromatin, which allows the large DNA molecule to be con- tained in the small nuclear space. ...
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... although the biochemical mechanism responsible for DNA methylation is still being explored, it is nevertheless clear that DNA methylation is a reversible reaction. Therefore, DNA methylation is a candidate mechanism to dynamically alter and adapt gene programs in response to experiential signals, as will be discussed in Figure 13.2. ...
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... it stands to reason that the same processes that operate in early developmental periods to translate early life experience into life-long phenotypes are fundamentally adaptive processes that prepare the organism for optimal functioning in a specific context and that adult disease represents a maladaptation of this inherent- ly adaptive response ( Gluckman and Hanson, 2005;Szyf, 2012). Understanding these processes is therefore critical in order to elucidate how early experiences can shape adult well-being (see Figure 13.3). ...
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... first evidence for epigenetic processes mediating the impact of early experience on life- long behavioral phenotypes came from studies in rats. A long line of work has demonstrated that the natural variation in maternal care is associated with phenotypic differences in their adult offspring, particularly in behaviors related to stress responsivity ( Francis et al., 1999 Bio Physical Social Phenotype Figure 13.3 epigenetic adaptation to the environment. ...
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... However, although not refuting the overall set point model of happiness, Lucas (2007) points out considerable individual differences and highlights that "happiness levels do change, adaptation is not inevitable, and life events do matter" (Lucas, 2007, p. 78). This is consistent with the latest research on the epigenetics of wellbeing, according to which there is (1) a significant interaction between environmental and genetic factors that influence wellbeing over the life course, and (2) there are considerable individual differences in the extent to which an environment impacts on wellbeing (Szyf & Pluess, 2015). Therefore, events such as retirement may have a more significant influence on some individuals' wellbeing. ...
While literature about the relationship between wellbeing and accomplishment exists, previous studies were mainly quantitative and neglected the subjective experience of female retirees, which the current study aimed to address. Three female retired charity CEOs based in the UK were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) yielded three themes: (1) “accomplishment and wellbeing - a potentially negative interaction”, (2) “accomplishment and wellbeing - a positive link through interaction with other wellbeing domains”, and (3) “retirement - a moderator for negative direct impacts”. The results provided a complex picture of how high-achieving women post-retirement perceived accomplishment as a contributor to their wellbeing. By highlighting an intricate link between accomplishment and other domains of wellbeing, particularly positive relationships, the findings critique that positive psychology overemphasizes the individual and highlight the need for further research into the interaction between different domains of wellbeing. The study also contributes to the debate about the relationship between age and wellbeing by illuminating the individuality of the experience depending on circumstances and environment. Finally, discussed are the implications of the current study in the context of retired high-fliers.
... Esta revalidación de la experiencia traumática y la respuesta de estrés ponen de relieve que las condiciones particulares e individuales del sujeto, como lo son las valoraciones apreciativas que se le asignen a los desafíos impuestos por el entorno y/o las determinaciones sociales de los grupos o poblaciones, constituyen una condición determinante de los procesos somáticos disparados. De modo que estas complejas interacciones demostradas, iniciadoras de modificaciones fisiológicas, que consolidan nuevas pautas de conducta e interactúan sobre los propios sistemas fisiológicos en una relación de retroalimentación que incluye su desregulación, resultan los vectores que influyen en la salud como en la enfermedad (Szyf & Pluess, 2015). ...
... Esta revalidación de la experiencia estresante y la concomitante respuesta sistémica disparada -Respuesta anticipatoria Compensatoria u Homeostasis Sistémica y la Respuesta Adaptativa Predictiva , 2010, pone de relieve que las condiciones particulares e individuales del sujeto, como lo son las valoraciones apreciativas que se le asignen a los desafíos impuestos por el entorno y/o las determinaciones sociales al interior de los grupos o poblaciones, constituyen una condición inherente a los procesos somáticos disparados. De modo que estas complejas interacciones entre el genoma y los desafíos del entorno, representan la actividad base que consolida las nuevas pautas de conducta, las que a su vez, interactúan sobre los propios sistemas fisiológicos en una relación de retroalimentación que incluye su desregulación, influyendo perjudicialmente sobre la salud (Szyf & Pluess, 2015). Este marco biológico de los eventos y/o memorias traumáticas -entendiendo por evento traumático a aquel que dispara, enciende, o estimula la respuesta adaptativa, y ésta como la que tiene competencia para alterar los patrones de actividad de la regulación génica, que contempla incluso la probabilidad de la transferencia o transmisión transgeneracional de las nuevas pautas de conducta y/o rasgos fenotípicos a partir de marcas epigenéticas que disparan la actividad de transcripción pudiendo expresar o silenciar específicos genes vinculados con la conducta adaptativa o no-adaptativa, es el cabal fundamento de la integración psiquis-soma. ...
La E.E. ha obligado al psicoanálisis a revisar sus presupuestos teóricos al poner en evidencia la consunción de la dinámica descriptiva de las estructuras de la subjetividad como justificación etiopatológica de las enfermedades. Se revisan las principales hipótesis psicoanalíticas desde la perspectiva de los estudios de asociación genómica (...) que incluye la participación del psicoanálisis en los procesos de reversibilidad epigenética....
... At first sight, these findings may suggest that genetic screening could prove valuable in order to improve treatment, intervention, and policy efficacy. However, given that vantage sensitivity is most likely the function of many thousand gene variants of small effects rather than a few selected candidate genes, and that gene expression is further regulated by epigenetic factors in response to environmental influences (Pluess & Meaney, 2015;Szyf & Pluess, 2015), genetic screening does not appear to be a viable and reasonable approach-at least not based on current knowledge. Rather, future studies should focus on identifying the different biological systems that play an important role in vantage sensitivity-using replicated vantage sensitivity gene networks as guides-in order to detect endophenotypes and higher-order systems associated with vantage sensitivity. ...
A large number of gene-environment interaction studies provide evidence that some people are more likely to be negatively affected by adverse experiences as a function of specific genetic variants. However, such "risk" variants are surprisingly frequent in the population. Evolutionary analysis suggests that genetic variants associated with increased risk for maladaptive development under adverse environmental conditions are maintained in the population because they are also associated with advantages in response to different contextual conditions. These advantages may include 1) co-existing genetic resilience pertaining to other adverse influences, 2) general genetic susceptibility to both low and high environmental quality, and 3) co-existing propensity to benefit disproportionately from positive and supportive exposures as reflected in the recent framework of Vantage Sensitivity. After introducing the basic properties of Vantage Sensitivity, and highlighting conceptual similarities and differences with Diathesis-Stress and Differential Susceptibility patterns of gene-environment interaction, selected and recent empirical evidence for the notion of Vantage Sensitivity as a function of genetic differences is reviewed. The unique contribution that the new perspective of Vantage Sensitivity may make to our understanding of social inequality will be discussed after suggesting neurocognitive and molecular mechanisms hypothesised to underlie the propensity to benefit disproportionately from benevolent experiences. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... Similar findings related to genetic moderation emerged in relation to the effects of the postnatal environment on environmental sensitivity (31). Such interplay between genetic and environmental factors most likely involves the regulation of gene expression through environmentally induced epigenetic changes (32,33). ...
A fundamental trait found in most organisms is the ability to register, process, and respond to external factors. Although such environmental sensitivity is critical for adapting successfully to contextual conditions, individuals tend to differ in their sensitivity to the environment, with some more sensitive than others. Such differences in environmental sensitivity can be seen across many species, including humans. Although the notion of variability in environmental sensitivity is reflected indirectly in many traditional concepts of human psychology, several new frameworks address individual differences in environmental sensitivity more directly and from a perspective of developmental and evolutionary theory. In this article, I integrate these perspectives into a broad meta-framework before proposing ideas for research on individual differences in environmental sensitivity. I also emphasize that inter-individual variability in environmental sensitivity be considered in both theoretical and applied work.
We studied the features of allostatic load (AL) in 100 students aged 18–24 years old who, from birth to adulthood, lived in the territories assigned to the IV radiation zone after the Chornobyl accident (density of soil contamination by isotopes 137Cs 3.7–18.5∙104 Bq/m2) and underwent prolonged exposure to small doses of ionizing radiation. The examined students did not have any clinical signs of the immune-neuroendocrine system dysfunction. 50 people had signs of vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome (VVD), 48 had signs of moderate hyperthyroidism and 21 had signs of moderate hypothyroidism. During the examination session, as a factor of additional psycho-emotional load, in 66 of the examined the immunoregulatory index CD4+/CD8+ went below the lower limit of the homeostatic norm, in 62 of the examined low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) exceeded the upper level. The relative risk (RR) and attributable risk (AR) of the participation of potential secondary factors of allostatic load formation in CD4+/CD8+ immunoregulatory index going below the lower limit were calculated. The presence of statistically significant relative risk of participation in the formation of suppression of the index CD4+/CD8+: the state of hyperthyroidism, state of hypothyroidism, vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome, higher than normal LDL-C. When the examined students combined the signs of hyperthyroidism, vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome and higher level of LDL-C; with combination of signs of hypothyroidism, vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome and higher level of LDL-C. The attributable risk in all cases exceeded 0.10, which confirmed the importance of some of these factors and their complexes in the formation of the effect of reduced immunoregulatory index. The CD4+/CD8+ index can be considered an important biomarker of AL and premature age-related changes in the immune system in residents of radiation-contaminated areas. The risk of AL formation in the case of occurrence of a complex of mediated secondary biomarkers (vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome, thyroid dysfunction, hypercholesterolemia) is higher compared to their individual significance.
