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How Does Stress Work? The Role of Memes in Epigenesis

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Genes, Memes, Culture, and Mental Illness

Abstract

Stress responsiveness is affected by early experience. For example, in rats, high grooming and licking by mother in early life results in decreased reactivity to later stress by increasing the expression of glucocorticoid receptor genes in the brain. Memories of early experience and resulting changes in genes (epigenesis) determine stress sensitivity in later life. Epigenesis may result in increased or decreased susceptibility to influx of stress memes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    Hoyle Leigh

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  1. Hoyle Leigh
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Leigh, H. (2010). How Does Stress Work? The Role of Memes in Epigenesis. In: Genes, Memes, Culture, and Mental Illness. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5671-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5671-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5670-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5671-2

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