A new study has recently come out, outlining the positives of licking rats!
Some mother rats spend a lot of time licking and nurturing their pups, and it has been shown that these pups grow up to be calm adults, whilst rats that have been ignored by their mothers become anxious adults. This is not due to the genetics of the pup, but the epigenetics. The behaviour of the mother during the first week will shape the pups epigenomes and these stay the same for the rats entire life.
The epigenetic code will give the genome a significant amount of flexibility that will overtake the fixed DNA code, contrary to popular belief. This epigenetic code allows certain types of information to be passed to the pup avoiding the processes of random mutation and natural selection. It is also sensitive to environmental conditions such as the availability of food and water.
However being a relaxed rat has both its negatives and positives. Living in a high danger environment would mean the the relaxed rat is less likely to survive and die from predators and he will be more calm about danger. However, an anxious rat is more likely to suffer socially and physically such as from hearth problems, etc... So there are ways to reverse the epigenomes that cause the anxiousness or the relaxation.
To turn an anxious rat into a relaxed rat, one must injected into his brain a drug that removes the methyl group and thus makes the anxious rat act like a high nurtured rat. This is because the GR gene gets turned on and more GR proteins are made by the cells. The GR, which is fully named the glucocorticoid receptor, helps shut down the stress response. If you on the other hand want to turn a relaxed rat into an anxious rat, you can do so by injecting his brain with methionine and make him more anxious. It is important to know that these are not a substitute for the nurturing care of a mother as they are more likely to affect different genes.
Lastly, how exactly does the glucocorticoid receptor help shut down stress receptors?
Firstly, when in face with danger, the stress will activate adrenaline the Fight or Flight response and causes the hormone cortisol to be released into our bloodstream. Though cortisol is important for releasing energy too much is dangerous for our body as it can lead to depression and heart disease.
Cortisol will travel to the brain to the part called the hippocampus, where it binds to GR proteins. When a sufficient amount of cortisol is bound, the hippocampus will send out signals to stop the stress circuits, shutting down cortisol productions. Thus, rats with higher amounts of GR recover from stress faster.
Some mother rats spend a lot of time licking and nurturing their pups, and it has been shown that these pups grow up to be calm adults, whilst rats that have been ignored by their mothers become anxious adults. This is not due to the genetics of the pup, but the epigenetics. The behaviour of the mother during the first week will shape the pups epigenomes and these stay the same for the rats entire life.
The epigenetic code will give the genome a significant amount of flexibility that will overtake the fixed DNA code, contrary to popular belief. This epigenetic code allows certain types of information to be passed to the pup avoiding the processes of random mutation and natural selection. It is also sensitive to environmental conditions such as the availability of food and water.
However being a relaxed rat has both its negatives and positives. Living in a high danger environment would mean the the relaxed rat is less likely to survive and die from predators and he will be more calm about danger. However, an anxious rat is more likely to suffer socially and physically such as from hearth problems, etc... So there are ways to reverse the epigenomes that cause the anxiousness or the relaxation.
To turn an anxious rat into a relaxed rat, one must injected into his brain a drug that removes the methyl group and thus makes the anxious rat act like a high nurtured rat. This is because the GR gene gets turned on and more GR proteins are made by the cells. The GR, which is fully named the glucocorticoid receptor, helps shut down the stress response. If you on the other hand want to turn a relaxed rat into an anxious rat, you can do so by injecting his brain with methionine and make him more anxious. It is important to know that these are not a substitute for the nurturing care of a mother as they are more likely to affect different genes.
Lastly, how exactly does the glucocorticoid receptor help shut down stress receptors?
Firstly, when in face with danger, the stress will activate adrenaline the Fight or Flight response and causes the hormone cortisol to be released into our bloodstream. Though cortisol is important for releasing energy too much is dangerous for our body as it can lead to depression and heart disease.
Cortisol will travel to the brain to the part called the hippocampus, where it binds to GR proteins. When a sufficient amount of cortisol is bound, the hippocampus will send out signals to stop the stress circuits, shutting down cortisol productions. Thus, rats with higher amounts of GR recover from stress faster.