The Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

Oh dear, that used to be such a dirty word.  The idea of it was roundly rejected for a hundred years, and then, lo and behold it is now pure science. What happened? For one thing, the scientific method, slow as it is.  For another, consciousness has developed, stripping us of old canards.

Anent this point, made in several journals and written about in New Scientist (7 Dec. 2013) (See http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029462.700-fear-of-a-smell-can-be-passed-down-several-generations.html#.UsVZg2RdVWI), there is mounting evidence that parental effects dip down into the newborn impregnating her with parental history. So when we ask, “Why is she that way?” We have a better idea.  She is that way due to genetics and above all, what life experience has done to those genes.   For example, “Why does she eat so much?”  We know that it is not current culture that is the sole cause; it could also be because the mother was indulgent and ate compulsively.  It turns out that babies learn some food preferences while living in the womb.  And some of it is pretty well set before the age of two.   While in the womb the baby is learning about his world and what to expect from it; hence lots of food is to be expected from a mother who indulges.

There is evidence now that diet can alter gene expression.  If you love sweets and cannot resist, it could be due to womb-life.   In other words, the mother’s compulsion becomes your destiny.  This can explain a good percentage of obesity in children.  Bad eating habits begin in the womb as do so many other compulsions.  More evidence is piling up to show how this early start can predict the early onset of disease and a shortened lifespan.  (See the work of Keith Godfrey, Univ. Of Southampton (See http://www.southampton.ac.uk/medicine/research/themes/epigenetics.page). And also New Scientist, 7 December, 2013).   The fetus is not only aware of certain tastes and smells in the mother while she is carrying, but those memories can last a lifetime, and can affect so much of our interests later on.  Mothers ingesting carrot juice during pregnancy had children who preferred it.

It is not just diet, that is the obvious one, but think about fear; it can be passed down, as well.   So are we born fearful? Could be.  We can be jumpy, nervous and erratic, all due to epigenetics.  Mice who associated a certain smell with an electric jolt became fearful in the presence of that smell.  It seems so early as to be genetic, but it is more likely to be epigenetic, the condition of the mother (and father) while carrying.  This should teach us something about memory; for memories while being carried can last decades and drive and/or channel behavior.  We do not simply “grow out of it.”

In fact, premature babies who were hugged and caressed a lot went home earlier than those babies not touched as much. Those early kisses count a lot and help shape personality, a loving and warm person versus a stand-offish one.  A nervous mother leaves a predisposition to fear in the offspring, just as a depressed mother leaves a base of depression in her baby.   Whether it becomes overt depends on later events and traumas.   I personally believe that lots of love and healthy living in the very young child can abate these deleterious effects.   This is especially true for those babies who were taken from institutions.  They are greatly in need of love and reassurance early on.   If they don’t get it, it can be somewhat irreversible; that is, there may be a point where love can no longer make a great difference. The damage is done and it is pretty well fixed.  This is the research we will embark on in the near future.  Is there a point in time when love cannot reverse previous damage?   When is that point?

The evidence is becoming clear, ever since I posited early life trauma, even in the womb, almost fifty years ago.  At that time, I had to be convinced of it through the experience of my patients. It became irrefutable.   But I understood how hard it was to convince others of its importance, especially those in psychology and psychiatry.

I know that I had a tendency to be fearful since gestation and birth so that a harsh tone from my father just withered me and forced me to obey without question.   I became obedient to demands, gave in so that the anger will stop.  I had a “couche” of terror below due to a psychotic mother. It was all compounded into an unaggressive child.  Add that to almost never having any needs filled and you get the picture of a child who knows nothing of his needs or his feelings, just drifting along in life, complaisant and undemanding.  That is no way to be, believe me.