Mental Health & Epigenetics | Psych-100 | Chapter 10 | Flourish with Diane Planidin

Early life experiences exert a profound and long-lasting influence on physical and mental health throughout life. The efforts to identify the primary causes of this have significantly benefited from studies of the epigenome—a dynamic layer of information associated with DNA that differs between individuals and can be altered through various experiences and environments.

The epigenome has been heralded as a key “missing piece” of the etiological puzzle for understanding how development of psychological disorders may be influenced by the surrounding environment, in concordance with the genome. Understanding the mechanisms involved in the initiation, maintenance, and heritability of epigenetic states is thus an important aspect of research in current biology, particularly in the study of learning and memory, emotion, and social behavior in humans.

Moreover, epigenetics in psychology provides a framework for understanding how the expression of genes is influenced by experiences and the environment to produce individual differences in behavior, cognition, personality, and mental health. In this module, we survey recent developments revealing epigenetic aspects of mental health and review some of the challenges of epigenetic approaches in psychology to help explain how nurture shapes nature.

Learning Objectives

- Explain what the term epigenetics means and the molecular machinery involved. - Name and discuss important neural and developmental pathways that are regulated by epigenetic factors, and provide examples of epigenetic effects on personality traits and cognitive behavior.

- Understand how misregulation of epigenetic mechanisms can lead to disease states, and be able to discuss examples.

- Recognize how epigenetic machinery can be targets for therapeutic agents, and discuss examples.

Live an Inspired Life! #Psychology #QueensU #MentalHealth

Find out more about Flourish at the links below:

➡️ https://www.Flourish.Mom

➡️ Facebook https://www.Facebook.Com/Flourish.Mom

➡️ Twitter: https://www.Twitter.Com/FlourishMom

➡️ Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/FlourishMom

➡️ Pinterest: https://www.Pinterest.ca/WowFlourishMom

➡️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IOEUKLpco8Q

 

 

PSYC 100: Principles of Psychology F21 by PSYC100 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Note: I am a student and not a teacher - I am sharing my learning journey with you!