Epigenetics Module

Epigenetics
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
●​ Explain what is meant by gene expression.
o​ How much particular combinations of genes are expressed or not at
all, influencing brain function, behavior, etc.
●​ Explain what is meant by a "gene-environment interaction"
o​ How environmental factors such as diet, external environment, etc.
affect how much particular genes are expressed, or if they are
expressed at all
●​ Discuss the implications of epigenetics on the study of behavior
o​ Epigenetics is the field that describes how environment affects gene
expression in individuals with these changes potentially being
inheritable
o​ An individual may have the genes to activate a behavior, but this
behavior may not occur due to those genes not being expressed

Key Concepts
Before completing the module below, please complete the reading on Epigenetics and
Depression posted on Managebac last class. When reading this section, please take
notes on the following important concepts:
●​ Epigenome
o​ Collection of chemical tags on DNA and histone proteins that control
which genes are expressed or not
●​ Gene-environment interaction
o​ Part of the field of study known as epigenetics
o​ Behaviors can only occur if particular environmental conditions
allow for a gene to be expressed
●​ Gene expression
o​ A complex chemical reaction to environmental or physiologicial
changes that allow a gene to fulfill its purpose
●​ Genetic vulnerability
o​ The likelihood of developing a disorder due to inheritent genetics

Checking for Understanding

Epigenetics is rather complicated. For IB psychology you do not need to understand the
process of methylation in genetic transcription, but you should understand the most
basic concept of gene expression - that is, that genes are turned on and off. So, you
could have a gene, but it is not expressed. One of the most common ways in which
genes are expressed is due to stress. More specifically, stress hormones appear to play
a key role in genes being expressed. Modern research is looking at the possibility that
genes that are expressed may be passed down "as expressed" to the next generation.
Holocaust Trauma Passed on to Children's Genes
Yehuda (2015) carried out a genetic study of 32 Jewish men and women who had either
been in a Nazi concentration camp, witnessed or experienced torture, or had had to
hide during the second world war.

They also analyzed the genes of their children, who are known to have an increased
likelihood of stress disorders and compared the results with Jewish families who were
living outside of Europe during the war.

The team was specifically interested in one region of a gene associated with the
regulation of stress hormones, which is known to be affected by trauma. According to
Yehuda, “If there’s a transmitted effect of trauma, it would be in a stress-related gene
that shapes the way we cope with our environment.”

They found epigenetic tags on the very same part of this gene in both the Holocaust
survivors and their offspring, the same correlation was not found in any of the control
group and their children. Through personal interviews, the team ruled out the possibility
that the epigenetic changes were a result of trauma that the children had experienced
themselves.
Thinking Critically About Research
How convincing do you find the study by Yehuda (2015)? What concerns would you
have if someone told you that psychologists have proven that trauma can be inherited?
Now that you have had some time to think about the article above, you should be aware
that there is evidence that one's epigenome may be inherited. However, so far, most of
this evidence is in animals.
-​ Yehuda (2015) found epigenetic tags on the very same part of a stress
related gene in holocaust survivors and their children
-​ This indicates that the epigenetic changes caused by Holocause
created an inheritable change
-​ However, coming to the conclusion that trauma cna be inherited is difficult
-​ Many extraneous variables exist for example, it is hard to deduce for
sure whether a particular gene or set of genes is the reason for
certain effects

Dias and Ressler (2013)

Scientists at Emory University in Atlanta trained male mice to fear the smell of cherry
blossom by pairing the smell with a small electric shock. Eventually, the mice shuddered
at the smell even when it was delivered on its own.

Despite never having encountered the smell of cherry blossom, the offspring of these
mice had the same fearful response to the smell - shuddering when they encountered it.
So too did some of their own offspring.
On the other hand, offspring of mice that had been conditioned to fear another smell, or
mice that had had no such conditioning had no fear of cherry blossom.

Checking for understanding

Answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1.​ A psychologist carries out a twin study and finds that there is a 43%
concordance rate for depression in monozygotic twins. Applying your
understanding of epigenetics, why is it not 100% if they have the same genes?
a.​ Monozygotic twins likely will not experience the exact same
environmental conditions as one another. Epigenetics refers to how
our environment affects gene expression; in monozygotic twins
variable environmental conditions can alter the expression of
particular genes, meaning a 100% concordance rate of genes is
unlikely.

2.​ Epigenetics has taught us that we don't just have to have a gene, but that gene
must be expressed for a behaviour - such as bipolar disorder - to exist. What
does this mean about the "deterministic nature" of genes? In other words, if I
have the gene, is it my fate to develop bipolar disorder? Explain why or why not.
a.​ No it is not, as genes have to be expressed for those behaviors to be
developed. This means particular social environments, diet, etc. can
influence whether genes are expressed or not meaning it is not
guaranteed for that behavior to occur.

3.​ You have been asked to go to the pre-IB biology class and explain the concept
of the "gene-environment interaction" - that is, epigenetics. Using Caspi's study,
how would you explain this concept?
a.​ The 5-HTT gene is a gene that transports serotonin, contributing to
depressions
b.​ Caspi et al (2003) took 847 New Zealand 26 year olds, split them into
3 groups of whether their 5-HTT gene had 2 short alleles, one long
and one short, or 2 long alleles. They found that participants with
one or more short alleles were more likely to develop depression and
have suicide ideations in response to stress
c.​ This effect is especially strongest for 3 or more stressful life events
d.​ Caspi’s study shows not that the alleles of the 5-HTT gene cause
depression but the expression of that gene as a result of the
environment primarily stress causes this.