Conscious epigenetic remodelling

[Damienquinn]

I have a question for you all...

 

According to epigenetics, our environments deeply affect the way in which our genes express themselves. By environment, we can assume that this refers to the collective input of information to our system. This could include the food we eat, the light through our eyes, the surrounding molecular vibrations that we call sound, and all the other senses we "experience". This collective changes who we are.

 

If we are stressed, our genes will adapt. Stress is a function of behavour. Stress as you know it is conscious. Our choice to do exercise is conscious. Exercise will change you epigenetic profile.

 

Cutting a long story short......do you believe that you can change your body with your mind? Do you believe you can aid rehabilitation by using your brain to think to your body?

[iNow]

In my opinion,yes... we can do that, but really only to a certain small extent. What you are describing seems (to me at least) to be like a magnified placebo effect, which is cool, but it's important to realize that there are very real limits to just what can and what cannot be done in terms of changing ourselves through our minds alone. In fact, I'd suggest that it's pretty minor overall what can be achieved in this manner.

[jake.com]

psychosomatic symptoms are very common. but using your mind to make you feel better? thats all hypothetical, since you can't prove your mindset is what is actually making you feel better.

[bascule]

Stress is a function of behavour. Stress as you know it is conscious.

 

This is something of a non-sequitur.

 

Stress is not strictly a conscious process. Stress is often caused by the outside environment. If we were to apply the concept of "stress" to inanimate objects, stress is wholly a function of the environment. A bridge experiences stress as it undergoes the load of things crossing it. Stress in the lives of humans can be principally caused by outside factors.

[dttom]

If we are stressed, our genes will adapt.

 

The gene should never adapt in a single individual on environment stimuli or epigenetic changes. Yet it is because the expression patterns or modes are different so as to bring about an epigenetic change.

 

Stress is not strictly a conscious process.

 

This would depends on the interpretation of 'Stress'. If it is interpreted as any environmental stimulus which on average causes a particular set of symptoms, it surely should not conscious. But if it is known as any environmental stimulus which causes a particular set of symptoms on an individual, it would largely depend on how that one perceive the same stimuli, then it could be conscious, though with objective factors.

 

Back to the issue, for me I would believe it as possible. But if one would like to dissect why it is the case on molecular level or by any scientific analysis, the logic breaks down. If the question is how one's body is, it could further be asked that who is perceiving the body. If the perceiver think, believe, no matter which word with the same meaning, the mode of the body, the body would just be that.

 

Probably this answer is confusing to many, so let's go back to more understandable scientific thinking. I suspect, one could change the body state to a point, but not all; the mindset or conscious mind is controlled by the central nervous system, and there should be a point limit, like it is limited by the hardwiring of the nerves, to where the CNS could control obeying the physiochemical principles.

[jake.com]

This is something of a non-sequitur.

 

Stress is not strictly a conscious process. Stress is often caused by the outside environment. If we were to apply the concept of "stress" to inanimate objects, stress is wholly a function of the environment. A bridge experiences stress as it undergoes the load of things crossing it. Stress in the lives of humans can be principally caused by outside factors.

 

This is how i see it. Stress itself is not the symptom, it is the environmental stimulus that bringing about the physical and emotional changes, such as anxiety or depression.

[john5746]

Stress in the lives of humans can be principally caused by outside factors.

 

I pretty much agree with you, especially in the context of the effects on subsequent offspring. Starvation, war, etc would be great examples. Still, we do have a sort of feedback mechanism, an internal dialogue that we play in our heads. We can easily stress ourselves or calm down with our thoughts. So, culture could have an affect on how well individuals can respond to stress. Of course there is the "are we really in control of our thoughts argument".

[Saint Germain]

Yes - it has happened that people with multiple personalities had had one personality with let's say blue eyes, and the other with green eyes. (Don't know the actual colors - the point being the colors were different).

[Mokele]

Yes - it has happened that people with multiple personalities had had one personality with let's say blue eyes, and the other with green eyes. (Don't know the actual colors - the point being the colors were different).

 

No, it hasn't. Those are just wild stories fueled by movies and TV shows.

 

 

As for your mind changing genetic expression, you do it every day. Right now, I'm about to get breakfast, and once I eat it, it will cause massive changes in gene regulation throughout my gut in order to produce the enzymes needed to break down my food. Whether I eat cereal or bacon (a conscious choice) will determine which enzymes are upregulated by how much.

 

It sounds fancy, but it's really not.

[Sisyphus]

Since...

 

1) The mind appears to be a property of the body (specifically the central nervous system),

 

and

 

2) the body itself is a part of its own environment,

 

I think the whole question is rather fuzzy. How can what's going on in the mind not affect everything else, and vice versa? I'm aware of words in my mind, that represents activity in my brain, that results in my fingers typing. This involves all sorts of unconscious activity and moving around of chemicals inside all the different cells involved.

[quitxa]

No, I cant see a mechanism we avalible have control on regulation of the genes.