Have you ever learned from your mother’s mistakes? You might not think so, but recent research has shown that it may be possible to inherent your mother’s pre-pregnancy experiences. A team at Tufts University School in Boston, has now shown that female mice can pass on experiences (and related cognitive associations) that occur before pregnancy.
In the study, mice underwent genetic modification that resulted in them possessing deficient recall and recognition capabilities. Some of the mice were then reared in a cage with many toys, an environment known to enhance memory function. The modified mice were placed in a foreign cage and given an electric shock. Later, the mice were returned to the shock cage and (like normal mice) recalled the pain of their last encounter and froze in fear. Despite their genotype, the mice had developed a somewhat functional memory. These mice were termed “enriched”.
After reaching sexual maturity, the enriched mice were bred. It was found that offspring of enriched mothers froze in fear when placed in the foreign cage too- they associated it with electric shock. It appeared as though these mice had fully functioning memories despite never being reared in an enhanced, toy-laden environment. The offspring of unenriched mice (those who did not develop in a cage with toys) did not have working memories and did not freeze when placed in the cage. It was found fathers did not influence memory function in any way.
As the offspring of the enriched mothers had the same genetically-disabled memory, it was concluded that their enhanced cognition was inherited from their mother’s time in the toy-laden cage. The mother’s memory-enhancing experience in the enriched cage before pregnancy had been passed on to her offspring. The cognitive effect was only passed on to offspring if they were conceived within three months of enrichment. For this reason it is suspected that the mother releases certain hormones during gestation that act as chemical markers regulating the expression of genes after birth.
If similar processes are found in humans it could change the way in which we look at and educate our children.
Reference: www.newscientist.com. Accessed: 18 May 2009
