Legal News

Some mental health conditions may be passed down the generations via memories

US researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that memories may be genetically encoded in the DNA of sperm and eggs and passed down through the generations.

The findings have implications for behavioural issues in adults and children – and may help understand more about mental health conditions such as phobias, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The researchers conducted mouse experiments and introduced a group of study mice to a smell which they developed an aversion to: in this case, a smell similar to cherry blossom.

They found that successive generations of mice in the same family group –
down to the “grandchildren” of the study mice – naturally felt an aversion to the smell of cherry blossom and avoided contact with it.

The researchers also found changes in the DNA of sperm in the original mouse study group, as well as their brains – and these changes were also passed down to successive generations of mice in the same family groups, even if the mice had never encountered cherry blossom before.

The study findings suggest that the odour may have reached the bloodstream of the mice to bring about changes in egg and sperm DNA, as well as brain cells – memories are stored in different areas of the brain and memory retrieval is a complex process.

The team says that the findings suggest behavioural patterns and traumatic memories may be passed from one generation to another via DNA, a process known as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.

Researcher Dr Brian Dias said in a BBC interview:

“There is absolutely no doubt that what happens to the sperm and egg will affect subsequent generations.”

Mental health expert Professor Marcus Pembrey from University College London told BBC News that the findings were important to the study of mental health disorders such as phobias, anxiety and PTSD – and were “compelling evidence” that distressing memories could be passed down through the generations.

Prof Pembrey said it was time public health researchers took seriously the possible implications of transgenerational responses in individuals with certain mental health conditions – as well as diseases linked to inherited risks.

“I suspect we will not understand the rise in neuropsychiatric disorders – or obesity, diabetes and metabolic disruptions generally – without taking a multigenerational approach,” said Prof Pembrey.

It is already thought that pregnant women who experience trauma may pass on anxieties to their unborn child – and UK research by the University of Bristol has found that mothers who experience depression during pregnancy may increase the risk of their children having depression during their teenage years.

Mothers exposed to toxic materials or even viruses during pregnancy may also pass on the effects to their children, resulting in some mental health conditions.

However, other factors for mental health disorders include brain injury, substance abuse or alcohol misuse.

Environmental influences can also play a role in mental health conditions, however, including family or social environment and experience of child abuse, violence or emotional trauma when young.

The findings of the Emory University School of Medicine research are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Mental Health Law

Duncan Lewis is one of the UK’s leading mental health solicitors and can advise on all aspects of mental health law, including detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 – and challenging the decisions of tribunals and Clinical Commissioning Groups by way of Judicial Review Proceedings.

Mental health patients are entitled to free legal advice and the Duncan Lewis mental health team can arrange to visit hospitals and police stations at short notice.

For expert advice on mental health law contact Duncan Lewis on 020 7923 4020 – or call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.