Child abuse 'alters stress gene'

Child abuse 'alters stress gene'

news.bbc.co.uk

Abuse in early childhood permanently alters how the brain reacts to stress, a Canadian study suggests.

Analysis of brain tissue from adults who had committed suicide found key genetic changes in those who had suffered abuse as a child.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 2009/2/23 by Aeons]

[edit on 2009/2/23 by Aeons]

So, being abused alters your genes. You poor bastards. Now you are a lost cause for life.

Opps, only Vitamin B6 can suppress that problem.

But guess what, Vitamin B6 in the form of pyridoxal phosphate (the one that is being regulated to drug status) can mediate that.

www.jbc.org...

Epigenetic changes are not just in childhood either. It might be more difficult to force epigenetic changes after childhood, but not impossible.


news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 2009/2/23 by Aeons]

Hmmm... so abusing a little one negatively affects them for the rest of their life. Wonder how many millions of dollars were wasted on this research which should make the cover story for this month's issue of "DUH!" magazine?

They are researching it so that they can sell you a drug to offset it.

And of course, taken anything off the market that might mediate that problem without such a drug. Like taking the physiologically active form of B6.

No surprises there. Many people don't seem to understand that the fabric of your personality and who you are as an adult is determined by what you experience as a child. It seems people only ridicule me when I bring this up, but child abuse is a huge problem in this country that no one wants to touch, acknowledge or even consider it as a problem because "we're all individuals, this is America, I can do whatever I want, it's a free country" stuff and as romantic as it sounds, good people don't just "snap" for no reason. That "snap" ability is implanted in a person at an early age or it isn't. This finding of permanent changes to the brain caused by child abuse is only the tip of the iceberg.

Edited to fix spelling and wording


[edit on 23-2-2009 by Kratos1220]

Originally posted by Aeons

So, being abused alters your genes. You poor bastards. Now you are a lost cause for life.

If find this particular wording quite offending on behalf of abuse victims, I never had a good childhood but not of the sort studied in this research, but many I am sure will look at this who have been abused as was researched and will have their victim and brain wiring reinforced by your words.

PS from working with Children with behaviour problems when younger, some from the abuse sustained at home and in care, trust me IT IS ALL NOT chemical or mechanical, and can be changed, the brain has amazing plasticity, and habits and deep rooted subconscious feelings can be changed over time etc.

YOU POOR ignoramus for thinking its just Mechanical and believing the spin, brought up to believe in a mechanistic universe and told you were stupid when talked about imaginary friends?

Elf.

[edit on 23-2-2009 by MischeviousElf]

Does brainwashing in school or from MSM count as abusing?
Cos I think this kind of abuse is the worst of all and permanently degrades human genome.

stress gene? I didn't know I had one.
Is that something you ruin and then pass on to your kids?

Neurological damage is different than damaging a gene... I am confused.
Can you damage a gene?
I didn't want to read the article. I'm lazy... is that a gene too?

Yeah Elf, you tell em. Proud of you.
Let's call them "damaged" again so we don't have to deal with it.

Originally posted by burdman30ott6
Hmmm... so abusing a little one negatively affects them for the rest of their life. Wonder how many millions of dollars were wasted on this research which should make the cover story for this month's issue of "DUH!" magazine?

It's not a question of knowing the effects; it is knowing the mechanisms that lead to those effects. If you don't know that you have a much harder time in reversing damage.

Originally posted by seagrass
stress gene? I didn't know I had one.

Ive got quite a few if you cant find your's Seagrass and you want to fit in, I will give them away free to

Lol Nature or nurture eh, from my experience both subjective and working with genetically mmm "unusual" people some of who had 2 full rows of teeth and such like, bit of both, cant paint a Picture without the Paintbrush and paint (genes) but the Artist (personality/nature of person) affects it to, but then again if the canvass is being shaked by an earthquake when painting (god) it affects it to...

Oh who was painting it?



Love and Light to you SeaGrass to

Elf.

[edit on 23-2-2009 by MischeviousElf]

Originally posted by MischeviousElf
If find this particular wording quite offending on behalf of abuse victims, I never had a good childhood but not of the sort studied in this research, but many I am sure will look at this who have been abused as was researched and will have their victim and brain wiring reinforced by your words.

Actually, I read the initial comment in more of a grating and sarcastic kind of way, you know, like, "you were abused, your genes are defective, here, take this pill for the rest of your life and you'll be all better."

As if a pill could ever do such a thing.

reply to post by AngelInterceptor


Oh I saw the irony and presumed sarcasm, but as a wise man once said to me and he should know as he never bloody laughed,

There's no such thing as a joke, just a way of telling an inconvenient truth

The truth here being the OP's Belief system on formed in early childhood. The root I read of the sarcasm is the same trigger as "four eyes" in school which we all dismiss as harmless banter, in retrospect many know its not.

My point was many who have been abused will naturally look at this thread, and another even if subconscious primer is there. It may be funny and even sarcastic to the OP and others who "have not" been Abused in this way, and we can all try and wrap it up nice like that, we are sticking up for "them".....

Starting to see my point?

until you can place yourself in the shoes and have empathy, know how an Abuse Victim would read this well.... it would bring up emotions and even though the conscious mind may reject it,and even laugh or agree with you on this, deep down it just runs that program again, unless the person as I explained can be done after some hard work and choices has eradicated that.

Any Abused people reading my post hey im an Idiot and plonker anyhow so don't worry eh. and take the truth as I mention above from that as you like

Elf

[edit on 23-2-2009 by MischeviousElf]

reply to post by Mike_A

This is just a continuation of brain studies conducted over the past 20 years. It's stress in the environment - pre and post natally up to about the age of three years that alters brain chemistry which physically alters brain physiology and over time physically alters the genetic structures of neurophysiology. Given the right environmental interventions over time a child can somewhat recover, but you have to catch them early enough, otherwise it's in depth long term misery unless as an adult they buckle down and work seriously to heal...most don't. Google Dr. Bruce Perry...his writings are pretty straight forward and enlightening. I've worked with abused children and adults for almost 30 years. We've learned alot in the past 20 years, before that early in my career we were just "best guessing" how and what to do to repair the damage...and yes, child abuse AND NEGLECT (which is often more damaging and stressful than physical or sexual abuse) is a very serious and very neglected topic in America and globally.

Originally posted by Writer0429
reply to post by Mike_A

 

and over time physically alters the genetic structures of neurophysiology. Given the right environmental interventions over time a child can somewhat recover, but you have to catch them early enough, otherwise it's in depth long term misery unless as an adult they buckle down and work seriously to heal...most don't.
We've learned alot in the past 20 years, before that early in my career we were just "best guessing" how and what to do to repair the damage...and yes, child abuse AND NEGLECT (which is often more damaging and stressful than physical or sexual abuse) is a very serious and very neglected topic in America and globally.

lack of affection, physical touch.
A child will take abuse as a substitute before being without their family. Obviously on the pyramid of importance is touch.
A healing hand.
A simple hug.
What environmental interventions can fix a damaged brain physiology? Are you speaking of relearning?

And a big WELCOME to ATS by the way

[edit on 23-2-2009 by seagrass]

Originally posted by MischeviousElf
Any Abused people reading my post hey im an Idiot and plonker anyhow so don't worry eh. and take the truth as I mention above from that as you like

Elf

[edit on 23-2-2009 by MischeviousElf]

No offense taken. How could there be? You're post are always well-intentioned from what I've read.

No offense taken to Aeons either, for that matter.

I won't go into my long and sordid history, but I will say there is hope beyond medication. I've walked both roads and seen the positive and negative in each. In the end, there's little I found that worked as well as simply recounting what happened to myself and putting as much perspective as possible on it.

Which is to say simply, that it wasn't my fault. Blame and guilt, I guarantee, are the greatest obstacles to overcome. Truly, most of us have to find our own way, as desperate and painful as that can be. But it can be done. I may not always come across like it, but you should have talked to me a year and a half ago

Best of to all my fellow children in shadows.

[edit on 23-2-2009 by TravelerintheDark]

Well being a homeopathic healer and a person who has survived traumatic abuse as a child and as a result has multiple sclerosis (in my opinion because of it) i can definately agree that stress alters the brain. Being abused is traumatic to the nervous system and stressful to the brain tissue and the cardiovascular system. In my life, my MS flares up to the point of unmanagable when I get stressed. I am positive that the brain forms differently and functions differently because of abuse.

I agree, and yet I have a problem calling it a "stress gene". Physiological damage yes. Physical damage yes. Neurological damage yes. Genes are passed via conception. If DNA is altered, if it is, after birth because of abuse then is it said to be passed to children, I want to know. Otherwise calling it a damaged gene is not correct in my mind.

Simple question:

Does this not prove micro evolution? Human genes adapting to the environment?

Originally posted by seagrass
stress gene? I didn't know I had one.
Is that something you ruin and then pass on to your kids?

Neurological damage is different than damaging a gene... I am confused.
Can you damage a gene?

I didn't want to read the article. I'm lazy... is that a gene too?

No the title of the article is a misnomer. The only thing altered is your body's expression of the gene, this is known as epigenetics. The DNA is not modified. Here's a decent article on epigenetics:
en.wikipedia.org...