Re: Genetic Memory?


Uno Lapideus wrote:
> TT wrote:
>
> > Instincts are inherited behaviour patterns. Those are a bit different from inherited memories.
>
> That's my question... How are those "a bit different"? How are
> behaviour patterns encoded in the DNA?

The short answer is that we don't know, yet. In chickens they can
track certain markers like hormonal levels and see how certain hormones
go up and down during certain phases of laying, setting and brooding.
There is the idea that these hormones may be triggering or alter the
expression of certain genes that cause biochemical changes and
eventually neurological modifications that trigger responses.

How do you react to a blood curdling sceam? That is a hardwired
response. The chicken seems to react to certain environmental cues
along with the physiological changes in their behavior modification.
For example the hen will not stop laying and start the setting mode
until she sees a certain number of eggs in the nest. If you keep
removing eggs from the nest the hen will keep laying up to around 10
times the number of eggs that she would have laid for a normal clutch.
It is assumed that once the hen is at a certain physiological stage the
visual cue from the eggs in the nest will trigger the next set of
behaviors. With the sequencing of the genomes and new genomic
technologies they will be unraveling the genetic control of behavior
and we will start getting a much better idea of how it works.

Ron Okimoto


.

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