MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
Genes That Listen: Epigenetics, Memory, and the Biology of Participation
BY RUSLANA REMENNIKOVA
)RUJHQHUDWLRQVZH¶YHEHHQWROGRXUJHQHVKROGWKH¿QDOZRUGRQ temperament, talent, behaviors and identity, which ascribes an over- VLPSOL¿HGUROHWRKHUHGLW\%XWWKDWFHUWDLQW\LVJLYLQJZD\WRVRPH - WKLQJIDUPRUHLQWHUHVWLQJ DELRORJ\WKDW listens . '1$KDVORQJEHHQSRUWUD\HGDVDULJLGEOXHSULQWD¿[HGVFULSW<HW modern science suggests genes are not dictators; they are listeners, interpreters, negotiators. Life is far more improvisational than text- ERRNV OHW RQ LGHQWLFDO WZLQV JURZLQJ DSDUW LQWR UDGLFDOO\ GL̆ HUHQW adults; FKLOGKRRGVWUHVVOHDYLQJFKHPLFDO¿QJHUSULQWVRQJHQHV ; med- itation and compassion UHZLULQJLQÀDPPDWRU\UHVSRQVHV and life lon- gevity; and human connection shaping biology in real time. (SLJHQHWLFVWKHVWXG\RIKRZH[SHULHQFHLQÀXHQFHVJHQHH[SUHVVLRQ reveals that our bodies record life’s patterns. Genes don’t simply exist; they respond. They respond to our diet, our sleep, our stress, our love. They respond to the rhythms of our relationships, the attentiveness ZHR̆ HURXUVHOYHVDQGRWKHUVHYHQWKHHQYLURQPHQWVZHLQKDELW,Q this light, biology begins to feel participatory — less a predetermined script and more a dialogue, a co-authored story between organism and ZRUOGERG\DQG¿HOGVHOIDQGFROOHFWLYH Moving Through Genetic Determinism )RUPRVWRIWKHWZHQWLHWKFHQWXU\ELRORJ\WROGDVLQJOHVWRU\ \RXDUH your genes. The Human Genome Project was meant to decode what PDNHVXVKXPDQ²WRUHDGEDVHE\EDVHWKHERRNRIOLIHLWVHOI%XW ZKHQWKHVHTXHQFLQJZDV¿QLVKHGLQDFRQIXVLRQIROORZHG7KH KXPDQJHQRPHWXUQHGRXWWRKDYHRQO\DERXWSURWHLQFRGLQJ genes, hardly more than a nematode worm. The complexity of human consciousness, emotion, memory, art, and moral imagination didn’t ¿WWKHPDWK The story had missing pages. Part of the problem was how genetics had been framed. Genetic determinism held that genes invariably dictate outcomes, leaving little room for environment, experience, or chance. Genetic es- VHQWLDOLVPFODLPHGWKDWJHQHVDUH¿[HGHVVHQFHVGH¿QLQJZKRZHDUH and genetic reductionism treated genes as the ultimate explanation IRUKXPDQWUDLWV .DPSRXUDNLVSDQG.DPSRXUDNLV SS[YLL[YLLL 7KHVHVLPSOL¿HGQRWLRQVQRWRQO\PLVUHSUHVHQWHGELRO - ogy but also fueled harmful misconceptions, from claims of innate dif- IHUHQFHVLQLQWHOOLJHQFHEHWZHHQVH[HVDQGUDFHV *HDU\ .LPX - UD +HUUQVWHLQ 0XUUD\ WRWKHPLVWDNHQEHOLHIWKDWRXU traits are preordained rather than responsive. ,QWKHZDNHRIWKDWUHYHODWLRQDQHZTXHVWLRQEHJDQWRDULVH ,IJHQHV aren’t the full story, what else LVVKDSLQJOLIH"7KHHPHUJLQJ¿HOGRI HSLJHQHWLFVR̆ HUVDGL̆ HUHQWSUHPLVH ,WLVQRWLQGLYLGXDOJHQHVDORQH but the genome in context, responsive to environment, emotion, and experience, that shapes biological development and evolution. Stress can silence certain genes; compassion can awaken others. Nutrients, toxins, breath patterns, even social bonds leave chemical notations DORQJWKH'1$LQÀXHQFLQJZKLFKVHTXHQFHVSOD\DQGZKLFKUHPDLQ dormant. A mother’s touch, a lover’s absence, or the spinning bob wheel of GDLO\ VWUHVV OHDYH PROHFXODU ¿QJHUSULQWV 5HVHDUFK LQ ERWK DQLPDOV and humans shows that early experiences can alter gene expression in ways that persist for years. Rat pups receiving nurturing maternal care GHYHORS LQFUHDVHG JOXFRFRUWLFRLG UHFHSWRU H[SUHVVLRQ WKURXJK '1$ PHWK\ODWLRQZKLFKKHOSVUHJXODWHVWUHVVLQWRDGXOWKRRG 0HDQH\
Photo: dƌąŶƐŝƚŽ;DŽǀŝŵĞŶƟͿ͕ ϮϬϭϱ͕ ĂŶĂůŽŐƵĞĞdžƉŽƐƵƌĞƐ͕ by Mari Amman; ŚƩƉƐ͗ͬͬ ŵĂƌŝĂŵŵĂŶ͘ ŶĞƚͬ ƚƌĂŶƐŝƚŽͬ 6]\I ,QKXPDQVWKHFKLOGUHQDQGHYHQJUDQGFKLOGUHQRI+R - ORFDXVWVXUYLYRUVRUIDPLQHYLFWLPVFDUU\'1$PHWK\ODWLRQPDUNVLQ stress-related genes, suggesting that trauma, and by extension care, FDQUHYHUEHUDWHDFURVVJHQHUDWLRQV +HLMPDQVHWDO <HKXGDHW DO Practices of attention and care also leave biological traces. For in- stance, compassion meditation has been shown to alter the expression RI JHQHV LQYROYHG LQ LQÀDPPDWLRQ DQG VWUHVV UHJXODWLRQ H̆ HFWLYHO\ WXQLQJWKHERG\¶VUHVSRQVHWRWKHHQYLURQPHQW .DOLPDQHWDO %KDVLQHWDO Empathy, kindness, and intentional presence, far from being abstractions, have measurable impacts on biology, demon- strating that our interior states are translated into molecular signals. 7KH¿HOGEHWZHHQXVSDUWLFLSDWHVWRR:KHQJURXSVEUHDWKHWRJHWK - HUV\QFKURQL]HPRYHPHQWRUHQJDJHLQVKDUHGDWWHQWLRQSK\VLRORJL - FDOFRKHUHQFHHPHUJHV KHDUWUK\WKPVDOLJQVWUHVVPDUNHUVGURSDQG HPRWLRQDOVWDWHVVWDELOL]HDFURVVSDUWLFLSDQWV 0F&UDW\ 5XL] %ODLVHWDO 7KHVH¿QGLQJVKLQWDWVRPHWKLQJSURIRXQG FRQ - sciousness and matter, long imagined as separate, may be interwoven LQUHVRQDQW¿HOGVWKDWH[WHQGEH\RQGWKHLQGLYLGXDO Life as Participation: Agency, Intention, Relationships, En- vironment (SLJHQHWLFVUHODWLRQDOUHVRQDQFHDQGELR¿HOGFRKHUHQFHFRQYHUJH RQDVLQJOHLQVLJKW /LIHLVUHVSRQVLYH*HQHVFRQYHUVHFHOOVDGDSWDQG the human body senses, interprets, and communicates, translating ex- perience into chemical marks, and attention into energetic rhythms. ([SHULHQFH OHDYHV PROHFXODU WUDFHV ZKLOH DWWHQWLRQ R̆ HUV HQHUJHWLF RQHV 7RJHWKHU WKHVH IRUP GL̆ HUHQW UHJLVWHUV RI WKH VDPH PXVLF ² molecular, relational, and resonant. Every act of attention, care, or intention becomes a note in the body’s evolving score. The tone of our thoughts, the steadiness of our breath, the warmth or tension in our exchanges are transcribed into OLYLQJWLVVXH(PSDWK\FRQÀLFWDQGDWWXQHPHQWHDFKEHFRPHPROHF - ular dialogues, teaching cells what safety, belonging, or vigilance feel like. Early caregiving leaves enduring imprints, shaping stress regula- tion and emotional resilience well into adulthood. The environment adds another layer of context. Nutrition, toxins, OLJKW F\FOHV XUEDQ QRLVH DQG VRFLDO VXUURXQGLQJV LQÀXHQFH ZKLFK genes play and which remain silent, while perceptions of safety, pur-
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PATHWAYS—Winter 25-26—13
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