Adversity and the Genome

The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the understanding of the environmental impact on our genes. Sunday’s Theme Program, “Gene-Environment Interplay in Stress and Health,” presented the latest research in how environmental stress impacts health and behavior from the genetic level up. 

Numerous studies have shown that increased anxiety can lead to increased risk for psychological disorders and myriad other health problems. Using a combination of pharmacological, imaging, and molecular genetics research techniques, Ahmed Hariri and his colleagues have worked to map the chain of events controlling serotonin’s role in the amygdala’s arousal response to stress and the subsequent prefrontal cortex’s response to bring the system back to its normal state. By understanding this system from the molecular genetics to the experienced anxiety, we may be able to identify and manipulate specific pathways to lessen the risk of stress-related illness.

Cornelius Gross and his colleagues at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory have also investigated environmental interactions with genetic markers controlling serotonin production and, hence, reactions to stressful events. They have developed a mouse model where certain serotonin related genetic variations ameliorate the negative effects of both early and adult life stress.  

While mice provide a very useful manipulatable model, Steve Cole has been endeavoring to understand the wider implications of social stress on the human genome. Cole’s own research has shown that being socially inhibited is related to a quicker progression of HIV. He discussed related research showing that many social stressors, from loneliness to sleep deprivation, affect gene transcription across the body.  But, like in the mouse model, certain genes also appear to confer resilience to negative environments, pointing to the human body’s continually fascinating self-preservation mechanisms.

-Ann Conkle