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iRoyalty
reply to post by purplemer
It would definitely be a good step in understanding how insects and animals know exactly what they're doing without being taught it.
Coincidentally I was doing some research and came across this,
tinner07
Very interesting. I wonder how many generations it can be passed down . . .
But is it a "memory". Is a conditioned response a memory? Do the original mice remember the shock? Do the offspring? Do we remember cave bears or is it instinct that tells us that dark places are not necessarily a good place to venture into?
When they subjected the third generation to the smell they jumped like they got the shock. Since the second generation was not subject to the smell or shock it HAD to be passed down via the DNA.
purplemer
Scientists have found that memories may be passed down through generations in our DNA
This is interesting it may help to explain the irrational phobia people have like being scared of heights or a fear of the dark. The experiment indicates that memories can sometimes be stored on the genome. The mechanisms of this are not yet understood and more research needs to be done before it can be applied to humans.....
Phage
reply to post by datasdream
But is it a "memory". Is a conditioned response a memory? Do the original mice remember the shock? Do the offspring? Do we remember cave bears or is it instinct that tells us that dark places are not necessarily a good place to venture into?
When they subjected the third generation to the smell they jumped like they got the shock. Since the second generation was not subject to the smell or shock it HAD to be passed down via the DNA.
I don't think instinct (which could well be a product of epigenetics to a certain degree) has much to do with cognition.
foxykittybite
reply to post by jacygirl
This raises more questions. Sometimes, the person who remembers their past life may describe their past life selves as a totally different person. They lived the life of someone who had no relation to them that we are aware of-genetically speaking.
Absolutely. I just have an issue with calling it a memory. I don't remember cave bears but dark caves make me nervous.
Isn't a conditioned response learned?
Research (pretty much in its infancy) indicates that the fear may be passed on through epigenetic "markers" that don't actually affect the DNA as such. They are sort of like add-ons that build up on DNA and affect the way the genome works, causing it to produce proteins (hormones) that it otherwise wouldn't. A fascinating aspect is that these epigentic markers can apparently be removed, causing that inherited fear to go away.
The first generation of mice learned to fear the smell through experience...so why did the second generation even HAVE that fear?
"I'm a man in search of his true self. How archetypically American can you get? We're all trying to fulfill ourselves, understand ourselves, get in touch with ourselves, face the reality of ourselves, explore ourselves, expand ourselves. Ever since we dispensed with God, we've got nothing but ourselves to explain this meaningless horror of life. I think that true self, that original self, that first self is a real mensurate and quantifiable thing, tangible and incarnate. And I'm gonna find the #er."