Abstract
The research being undertaken in the area of epigenesis is remarkable and is revolutionizing our understanding of psychology and its biological influences. This chapter highlights the differential susceptibility-resilience hypothesis of certain polymorphisms, depending on the degree of environmental support received. Genetic-environment interaction (G x E) research is indicating the complexities involved, and supports the notion of complex interactions involving G X El X E2. The research also indicates exogenous factors involved in the interactions. There are also gene-gene interactions and generalist genes to consider, as well as multi-gene X multi-environment modeling (G X G X E X E interactions). The developmental pathways that are being described to understand how these nuanced interactions unfold are neither nativist nor empiricist; they deny even a few basic, congenital modules at work in early core knowledge and domains. Neural networks become canalized through experience-dependent processes, and Hebbian learning takes place; neurons develop interconnections through repetitions or enhancements in firing of patterns. The brain is considered generalist. Mirror neurons capable of rapid learning are being found, and might be at work in mirror therapy. We are learning in social genomics that social-environmental influences (e.g., perceived loneliness) can affect the immune system response, and even survival, indicating that modern study of genetics needs to be “environmentally conscious.”
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Young, G. (2011). Gene–Environment Interactions: Other Topics. In: Development and Causality. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9422-6_30
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