Scientists: fears transmitted to children from their fathers - BFM.Ru

staff at Emory University as a result of experiments in mice concluded that the behavior can be transmitted at the genetic level, reports the BBC. Scientists have found that adverse life experiences of an animal can lead to changes in sperm DNA that eventually lead to changes in the behavior of future generations.

So, the researchers conducted an experiment on mice to determine how he will perceive a stimulus next generation of mice trained to avoid certain odors. In the experiment, scientists found that a region of DNA in sperm is responsible for a particular stimulus, has become more active, and new generations of mice began to avoid the smell, with which their fathers and grandfathers were unpleasant associations. Thus, the environment can affect human genetics , a traumatic event lead to changes in sperm DNA.

This study is important for scientists in the study of the nature of human anxieties and phobias. Knowing that parental experience considerably affects both on the structure and functioning of the nervous system at the subsequent generations, researchers will be able to understand the cause of some diseases and mental disorders.