In the 1950s and ‘60s, the drug Thalidomide was prescribed quite commonly to help moderate symptoms of morning sickness. Eventually it was discovered that even one dose of Thalidomide taken early in pregnancy—or even several weeks prior to a woman becoming pregnant—could cause devastating birth defects. Most particularly, the birth defect tended to result in shortened arms and legs, often with no elbows or knees. That’s one example of how a drug or medication can impact fetal development. Thalidomide is still used, mainly as a treatment for certain cancers (like multiple myeloma) and for a complication of leprosy. Which means that if a woman doesn’t know about this history and takes the drug just before getting pregnant or early in the pregnancy, the fetus may be affected.

It is often said that humans are a combination of nature and nurture: nature involves genetics, the chromosomes and genes inherited from your biological parents. Nurture involves epigenetics, everything that is NOT genetics. That of course includes drugs or medications. Epigenetics includes signals from your internal and external environments. That information is transmitted to your cells. Signals from your lifestyle—including what you eat, drink, or ingest—impact how the “blueprints” housed in your genes are interpreted and how the 3-dimensional protein-building blocks of life are assembled.

Cellular memory refers to a type of memory that is housed within the cells of your body. Many people think about memory as a specific, cognitive recollection of facts or about an event. They know what they ate for breakfast, recall names of friends, and know where they expect to vacation next summer.

Cellular memory is not conscious and cognitive. Rather is shows itself as a push toward behavior. It may form part of the foundation for the old lament, “I don’t do what I want to do, and what I don’t want to do, I do.” This is one of my favorite brain-related topics.

The implications of cellular memory to our lives are virtually unlimited. It likely impacts us in ways we never dreamed possible or never before understood. The emerging research can stimulate us to review our own lives, at least hypothesize regarding possible implications, and make more informed choices in the future. Here are a couple examples:

• Cellular memory from previous relationships may impact current relationships, especially if sexual activity was involved. How does unfinished business or unhealed woundedness impact cellular memory, especially as it relates to generational issues?
• Cellular memory may help to explain why individuals tend to alter their behavior when they re-enter the family system at holiday seasons. Is cellular memory so strong that it triggers us to repeat behaviors that we learned in family-associated environments?

My brain’s opinion is that it could. You may want to check the Cellular Memory Q&As for additional information. Some have used the connection between dependence on alcohol in males whose fathers were alcoholics as one example. Whether or not the sons were raised with their fathers, the boys run something like an 80% risk of becoming alcoholic in adulthood, if they choose to drink.

I believe cellular memory from the past 3-4 generations absolutely impacts a person’s life. Period. If there are positive memories of behaviors of ancestors or negative memories of past abuse and trauma, it appears those are filed within actual brain and body cells. The problem is that no one can change the past. Individuals can choose to heal past woundedness and at least at a personal level, become the person they wish others to be—at the same time working with whatever groups and organizations are taking positive steps toward actual equality. Actions that result in undesirable consequences (e.g., rioting, property destruction, theft, injury, death) rarely have positive long-term effects.

My brain’s opinion:  if one’s generational inheritance includes bigotry of any type, racism, or gender inequality, an individual may be predisposed to those thoughts. This does not mean the individual must make those their thoughts, conform to them, and act upon them. Unimpaired, in adulthood people choose the choices they make and the behaviors they exhibit. They can choose to follow “urges” or change their thoughts and take a different path.

Epigenetics or cellular memory is a fascinating topic. Scientists have become convinced that there is a form of inheritance in which the behavior of genes in offspring is affected by the life experience of parents. Or to put it another way, epigenetic factors may influence whether specific genes are turned on or turned off. According to some, epigenetics is one of the most scientifically important, and legally and ethically significant, cutting-edge subjects of scientific discovery.

Epigenetics link environmental and genetic influences with traits and characteristics of an individual, and new discoveries reveal that a potentially large range of environmental, dietary, behavioral, cultural, personality, psychiatric traits, and medical experiences can significantly affect the future development and health of an individual and their offspring. This means that in practice parents can pass along attributes they have acquired through experience to their biological children and grandchildren (although at this point the effects do not appear to last indefinitely).

In an article published in the UK entitled “What Genes Remember,” author Phillip Hunter writes: “Historical insults, such as Oliver Cromwell’s brutal reconquest of Ireland in 1649, have led to an embedding of attitudes within the affected communities that persist for generations.” This is now being linked with cellular memory. In a similar way, historical traumas such as transatlantic slavery and the holocaust likely leave some type of cellular memory mark on descendants.

Epigenetic inheritance does not involve rewriting genes, however. Neither does it remove personal choice. Yes, a person may experience something or change a preference based on cellular memory (e.g., A child has nightmares about being killed after receiving the heart of a child who was murdered. A girl becomes pregnant at the age of 15, the age her mother became pregnant with her, even though the girl didn’t conscious know that fact. A boy tries to hang himself repeatedly without ever being told that his grandfather suicided by hanging when the boy’s mother was 5 months pregnant with him—and when given that information made no further attempts to hang himself. An adult male craves Snickers after receiving the heart of a 14-year-old boy who loved Snickers. Infants tend to prefer foods that their mothers ate during pregnancy). In adulthood, whether or not the person decides to eat Snickers or the foods their mother loved, boils down to personal choice.

While there may be potential effects related to epigenetic factors impacting gene expression in relation to homosexuality, I’ve not seen definitive research to date.

It sounds a bit like The Da Vinci Code, right? That’s what scientists are reporting; DNA in the mitochondria may have (in effect) a hidden code. I addressed a couple of these findings in my blog toward the end of December.The human genome—and every person’s is slightly different—your complete set of genetic information, the blueprint of how you were built, is encoded within pairs of chromosomes in the cell nucleus. One sperm and one egg each donate 23 pairs of chromosomes resulting in a total of 46 pairs. A chromosome is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes. DNA consists of two long, twisted strands that contain complementary genetic information, like a picture and its negative.

Although many don’t realize this, the genetic code uses a 64-letter alphabet. The letters (codons) are organized into words and sentences called genes, a segment of DNA passed down from parents to child that confers a trait to the offspring. Humans have 25,000-30,000 genes, usually in pairs (one from each parent).

Since the genetic code was deciphered in the 1960s, scientists have assumed that it was used exclusively to write information about proteins. Scientists at the University of Washington have reported discovering that about 15% of codons are dual-use codons known as duons.

These duons simultaneously specify both amino acids and transcription factor (TF) sequences. It now appears there may be two separate languages, one written on top of the other, so to speak. This means that many DNA changes that appear to alter protein sequences may actually cause disease by disrupting gene control programs or even both mechanisms simultaneously.

Sometimes things go very well; sometimes they don’t. That’s where mutations come in. A mutation is a change in the spelling of a DNA sequence. Every person’s DNA contains mutations that typically are quite harmless. Some mutations, however, are harmful and may be responsible for triggering abnormal conditions and specific diseases.

In human cells, 99% of all DNA is found in the chromosomes; 1% of DNA is in the mitochondria, the energy factories that produce the energy-rich molecule known as ATP or adenosine triphosphate. Scientists are linking mitochondrial DNA defects with a wide range of age-related diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, some forms of heart disease, diabetes and various cancers.

Of course, I don’t know in what context your discussion about this occurred. However, studies have shown that the stress responses of fight-or-flight trigger the release of hormones and chemicals that impact the entire body. But it’s far more than that! When a woman is pregnant, the umbilical cord goes from the placenta to the fetus, transmitting everything carried in the mother’s blood. So, if the stress response is triggered in the mother, the hormones and chemicals released (such as Corticotropin Releasing Factor, adrenalin, or cortisol) also impact the fetus. After birth, extreme stress can even impact how tall a child will grow, plus it suppresses immune system function—which can increase your risk for disease and illnesses, which in turn could shorten your life.

I can give you some examples:

• According to Dr. Louann Brizendine in her book, The Female Brain, maternal stress during pregnancy and a stressful first two years of life impacts emotional / stress hormone reactions and creates a stressed nervous system in females (more so than in males). She has stated that brain circuits incorporate a fearful, anxious imprint that alters the girl’s perception of reality and can impact her for a lifetime (and, presumably, be passed along to that girl’s biological offspring).

• Boys seem to have more difficulty coping with parental fighting or divorce. The effects are more intense and last longer. They tend to return to stability and learning readiness more slowly. Some believe this means that boys are at higher risk of “downshifting” (as compared to females) and may impact males at least up to age 24….

NOTE: Girls will not come out of these types of fighting/divorce environments unscathed. However, girls seem to have more difficulty coping with death or separation (as compared to males). In fact, studies have shown that females are more susceptible to stress-related brain shrinkage from the release of the stress hormone known as cortisol. Between 5-7 years of exposure to chronic stress has been found to slow the growth of nerve fibers and shrink the hippocampus (the brain’s search engine).

I am unaware that a gene has been identified related to the number of lumps of sugar someone prefers in their coffee. That doesn’t mean this tendency was not inherited, but likely it is not inherited in the sense of Genetics, the DNA-related characteristics passed through the 46 chromosomes and 25,000 genes that have been identified in humans.

Some behaviors (or a push toward a specific behavior) may be transmitted from generation to generation via protein strands in the cell nucleus (in cells that have a nucleus). Sometimes referred to as “cellular memory,” this type of transmitted information can explain behaviors and even illnesses that tend to run in families. Epigenetics is the science that studies this type of generational transmission.

Current belief is that you can be impacted potentially by cellular memory from 3-4 generations back, and that you can transmit cellular memory to 3-4 succeeding generations.

The term “nature” refers to the inherited genetic characteristics contained in 46 chromosomes and 25,000 genes in the cell nucleus and the way in which they are expressed. Genetics is the study of heredity and the hereditary pattern of organisms related especially to genes and chromosomes. Body height, color of eyes, and IQ are believed to fall into the science of Genetics.

Nurture, on the other hand, refers to how environment acts upon nature (beginning with conception), and the transmittable imprinting stored in strands of regulatory proteins in the cell nucleus. Epigenetics is the study of the transmission of information from a cell to its descendants related especially to strands of regulatory proteins. Food preferences, a push toward some types of activities, a sense of déjà vu, and even images portrayed in dreams may fall into the science of Epigenetics.

An expanding body of information and knowledge suggests that what your ancestors ate, thought, and did, can impact you (their biological offspring). This can help to explain the reason that children who were raised in the same home by the same parents often turn out very differently; while children who are adopted may develop characteristics that are more like those of their biological parents than those of their adopted parents….

Excellent questions—complete answers for which are likely not yet available. From what is currently known, including anecdotal experiences of organ recipients who report a change in behaviors and dreams and thoughts and so on, my guess is that the donated organ does retain its cellular memory. The neurons in the donated organ may also continue to put out their electromagnetic frequency potential. For how long is uncertain. The recipient can continue to build new cellular memories, of course.

I saw a commercial the other day for organ donation. You might want to take a look at it and see what you think is being portrayed.
https://www.facebook.com/star1045/videos/10152871613882066/

Good question. I am aware of a couple of studies.  A study published in the Journal of Research in Personality revealed some interesting information. It concluded that intelligent people are more likely to be generous and altruistic. While generosity is not something people usually associate with intelligence, this research clearly shows a link. In the study abstract, the researchers referred to “unconditional altruism” as an enduring puzzle and posited that the “costly signaling theory,” a well-established framework in biology and economics, may be useful to shed light on the individual differences in human unconditional altruism. Based on this theory, their research showed that unconditional altruistic behavior is related to general intelligence; that unconditional altruism can serve as an honest signal of intelligence. They believe that their findings imply that altruistic behavior can be distinguished from cooperative behavior.

The second study reported in the Journal of Research in Personality concluded that those who possess a dispositional tendency to value joint benefits more than their own, scored higher on an intelligence test. Researchers studied 301 people who played games that involved either donating to others or keeping things for themselves. They found that those who were more egotistical and who kept more for themselves tended to be less intelligent. While those who were more generous to others tended to be more intelligent (e.g., individuals with higher IQs were more concerned with the public good.) Comments by the authors concluded that the evidence presented supports the possibility that unconditional altruism may serve as a costly signal of general intelligence because altruism is costly and is reliably linked to the quality “general intelligence.” They also found that children’s intelligence predicts later socio-economic success better than attributes of their parents’ attributes, concluding that intelligence is an indicator of future resources. A person with high cognitive skills may be able to donate more in advance than someone with lower skills and perhaps can afford to be more generous because they have more to give.

Christian Smith at the University of Notre Dame and colleagues are studying the science of generosity, as they put it. They defined generosity as the virtue of giving good things to others freely and abundantly. They also pointed out that generosity also involves giving to others not simply anything in abundance but rather giving those things that are good for others. The goal of true generosity is to enhance the true wellbeing of those to whom it gives. Generosity can involve tangible and intangible gifts. Many automatically think of money and possessions. Some of the intangibles may even be more important in the long term, including personal time, attention, aid, encouragement, emotional availability, empathy, the sharing of information to help promote personal growth and high level of Emotional Intelligence, and so on. The researchers were also clear that generosity is not identical with pure altruism, since people can be authentically generous in part for reasons that serve their own interests as well as those of others. If indeed, generosity is a virtue, to practice it for the good of others also necessarily means that doing so achieves one’s own true, long-term good as well. Perhaps like all the “virtues,” true generosity is in people’s best enlightened self-interest to learn and to put into practice.

No doubt you have heard the old saying: “Prevention beats cure.” That can apply to almost every area of life. In my brain’s opinion, current research indicates that there is a huge amount of hope if you grab onto it. For example, Genetics (genes and chromosomes you inherit from your biological ancestors) is believed to have about a 30 percent impact on your health, wellness, and potential longevity. Epigenetics (everything that is not genetics including your own lifestyle choices) appears to have a 70 percent impact on your health, wellness, and longevity. Where is there any hopelessness in that?

Hopelessness begins with a choice to believe that there is nothing you can do that would help you to be healthier. There is always something that can be done to improve one’s health, wellness, and potential longevity. Mindset is critical because self-talk, choices, and behaviors follow what you think. If you think you can do something or think you cannot do something, either way you are correct. Because of this, estimates are that 70 percent of how well and how long you live is in your hands.
What do you want? If you keep on doing what your ancestors and you have always done, you will continue to get the same outcomes. Start with one aspect at a time and build healthier skills into your daily routine.

That is precisely the reason I wrote—with input from colleagues—the Longevity Lifestyle Matters Program. (Access information about it from my website at https://arlenetaylor.org/longevity-lifestyle-program.) You can follow the program in your own home, at your own pace, and implementing strategies that work for you and your brain.

Spina bifida is classed as a birth defect. The tube that develops into the spine is formed early in gestation and closes about the end of the fourth week. So, a spina bifida birth defect will likely be in place before that. Most of the internal body organs—for example, brain, lungs, heart, kidneys, digestive system—are developed by the end of that first 12 weeks (the 1st trimester) of pregnancy. The brain, however, continues to develop for years after the baby is born.

According to Mayo clinic, there may be some genetic contribution if there is a family history. It’s also likely that epigenetic factors can also increase the risk for spina bifida. For example, a lack of Vitamin B-9, folate, maternal obesity prior to conception, maternal diabetes where the blood sugar is not well controlled during gestation, or even too high a core body temperature from fever or a lot of saunas. Research shows that the impact of epigenetics (including lifestyle) is real. But I hazard to guess that few people think about that. Estimates are that birth defects occur in less than 5% of pregnancies. When they do, however, it can be devastating to all concerned.

I am unaware of research indicating that Stiff-Person Syndrome itself is heritable. Nevertheless, you bring up a couple of cogent and interesting questions. Which disease, if any, a specific individual develops is thought to depend on a combination of genetic (genes and chromosomes) and epigenetic (environmental) factors. Sometimes one individual with a genetic mutation developed one condition while a relative with the same mutation might develop a different—although related—condition. Researchers reportedly have already seen some clues of overlapping genetic effects in identical twins. For example, one might have schizophrenia while the other has bipolar disorder, meaning that two different diagnoses may have the same underlying genetic risk factors. This could help explain the reason that some of these diagnoses seem to cluster in families. Since SPS is thought to involve an autoimmune process, it could make sense that some members in a given family system experience one or more types of auto-immune disorders.

Anecdotal information does suggest that cellular memory couple be implicated in what looks like “heritability,” in the sense that some conditions appear to surface more frequently in some family systems over others. Epigenetics has identified several things:

1.  Cellular memory for lifestyle and behaviors can be encoded on protein strands in the cell nucleus and may be passed forward for likely 3-4 generations of one’s biological line; and one typically can expect to have this passed down to them from the 3-4 previous generations
2. Something can happen that alters whether or not a specific gene is turned off or turned on and even how it is expressed, without any of its DNA being altered. There are also some DNA mutations, especially the DNA found in the mitochondria of the cells.
3. An individual may have a predisposition to develop a specific condition but often there needs to be an ecology that allows it to develop and/or some cofactor (“every pathology has an ecology”)—figure that out and deal with it and it is amazing what the body can do.

So, my question would be, what types of lifestyle patterns have been exhibited in the past three to four generations of that family? For example, look for patterns related to smoking, alcohol, soft drinks (which are typically toxic to the brain and immune system, as is refined sugar), adequate sleep, balanced living, stress management style, positive or negative mindset, depression, other autoimmune conditions;  and anything that has been found to contribute to immune system misfunction. Dig to discover those patterns and how they are expressed or not expressed in individual members, especially in those who do develop an autoimmune illness.

Knowledge is power. Once some of those factors are known, an individual family member can assess their own behaviors and alter them toward health as appropriate. Will that always prevent everything? No, of course not. However, tweaking one’s lifestyle toward healthful balanced living can often reduce symptoms and sometimes prevent conditions from developing.

This is a phenomenon that has been seen occasional with heart and kidney transplants. In his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, released in 1993, Deepak Chopra addressed cellular memory. At some level and in some circumstances it appears that when tissues are moved from one body to another, the cells from the first body carry memories into the second body.

In 1997, Claire Sylvia wrote a memoir entitled A Change of Heart that detailed her experiences after receiving a heart transplant from a young male donor. You might find it an interesting read. She interviewed Clive Backster, a pioneer in the development of lie detectors, who has gone on to perform experiments with plants and with human leukocytes. His experiments suggested that plants may be able to communicate with other life forms at a cellular level and may even experience the botanical equivalent of some human emotions). Human white blood cells typically exhibit an unmistakable reaction when their donor is subjected to specific emotional stimuli such as fear/anger/excitement, even when they are miles apart).

This is a phenomenon that has been seen occasional with heart and kidney transplants. In his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, released in 1993, Deepak Chopra addressed cellular memory. At some level and in some circumstances it appears that when tissues are moved from one body to another, the cells from the first body carry memories into the second body.

In 1997, Claire Sylvia wrote a memoir entitled A Change of Heart that detailed her experiences after receiving a heart transplant from a young male donor. You might find it an interesting read. She interviewed Clive Backster, a pioneer in the development of lie detectors, who has gone on to perform experiments with plants and with human leukocytes. His experiments suggested that plants may be able to communicate with other life forms at a cellular level and may even experience the botanical equivalent of some human emotions). Human white blood cells typically exhibit an unmistakable reaction when their donor is subjected to specific emotional stimuli such as fear/anger/excitement, even when they are miles apart).