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Genetic factors influence psychological states, but could the reverse be true? Recent study results in rodents and humans suggest that early experience can alter gene expression.
Franklin and colleagues carefully designed an animal study to eliminate the direct environmental impact of early experience and maternal factors on later generations. First, infant mice (F1 generation) were exposed to 3 hours daily of unpredictable separation from mothers undergoing random maternal stress. Weaned F1 males were mated with nonstressed females and then separated from the pregnant females. Their normally raised male offspring (F2) were bred with other nonstressed females to create F3 offspring. In behavioral testing, anhedonia-like behavior (a possible …