{"id":38022,"date":"2018-04-26T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=38022"},"modified":"2018-04-25T11:01:14","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T18:01:14","slug":"can-people-really-change-epigenetics-neuroplasticity-and-cbt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/can-people-really-change-epigenetics-neuroplasticity-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cbt-0426184","title":{"rendered":"Can People Really Change? Epigenetics, Neuroplasticity, and CBT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ParentMany of us learned in high school biology class that genetic traits are passed down to us from our parents. We were taught that we have brown, blue, or green eyes because a parent did, we\u2019re thin or fat because a parent was, and so on. Recent research expands this idea in a way that would have seemed inconceivable a few decades ago. We know the traits we pass down to our children can not only change based on our life experience. But we also know we can continue to alter our children\u2019s pattern of genetic activity after they\u2019re born. This area of genetics research is called epigenetics<\/a>. It\u2019s the study of alterations in gene function caused by changes in gene expression rather than in the genetic code.<\/p>\n

This could all seem a bit disheartening to those of us dealing with anxiety<\/a>, depression<\/a>, anger issues<\/a>, or other mental health concerns<\/a>. If we\u2019re depressed because of our parents\u2019 experiences or how they treated us when we were babies, what hope is there for us? But if we couple epigenetics with research into cognitive behavioral therapy<\/a> and neuroplasticity<\/a> (the brain’s ability to form new neurons and glial cells and forge new connections), we have reason to be hopeful.<\/p>\n

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In 2010, scientists at the University of Copenhagen fed male rats a diet high in fat and then watched as their offspring gained more weight than the babies of rats fed a regular diet. If traditional theories about genetics had been true, the diet of a rat\u2019s parent shouldn\u2019t have affected the weight of their offspring. The old thinking about genetics\u2014that either you\u2019re born with a gene that predisposes you to obesity or you\u2019re not, and nothing you do in your life changes what gene you pass onto your children\u2014is, according to studies like the Copenhagen one, incorrect.<\/p>\n

To discover how gene alteration in rats occurs, scientists studied their sperm. \u201cThe genes in sperm cells are regulated by swarms of molecules, so-called epigenetic factors. These molecules can respond to environmental influences by silencing some genes and activating others as needed\u201d (Zimmer, 2015). The research suggests the male rats were handing down epigenetic factors to their offspring.<\/p>\n

A 2011 study at the University of Wisconsin showed that \u201cwhen parents are under emotional, financial, or other forms of stress, it can alter their children\u2019s patterns of genetic activity at least through adolescence and perhaps longer. And since some of the altered genes shape brain development, the effects of parental stress might permanently wire themselves into children\u2019s brains\u201d (Begley, 2011).<\/p>\n

It was an earlier 2004 study that showed us how parents can alter a baby\u2019s genes by their behavior toward them. Another rat study, this time at McGill University, revealed that when a mother rat licks and grooms her offspring, \u201cit activates a gene that makes a receptor for stress hormones in the baby rats\u2019 brains, which causes more receptors to be produced, which causes fewer stress hormones.\u201d Thus, the offspring are more \u201cwell-adjusted, curious, and mellow\u201d as adults (Begley, 2011).<\/p>\n

So, the question becomes: If our parent\u2019 lives before we\u2019re born and their treatment of us when we\u2019re children can have a huge effect on our mental and physical health as adults, what can we do about it if we, as adults, are suffering the consequences? Whether we\u2019re dealing with childhood trauma<\/a>, anxiety, or another mental health issue, believing so much of our personality is baked-in can be, well, depressing.<\/p>\n

Learning more about epigenetics and neuroplasticity gives us a reason to strive to be healthier and happier people.<\/span><\/p>\n

This brings us to another fascinating area of research: neuroplasticity and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). According to a study published in Translational Psychiatry <\/em>in 2016, \u201cpatients with anxiety disorders exhibit excessive neural reactivity in the amygdala\u201d and there is \u201ccompelling evidence that CBT for a common anxiety disorder simultaneously changes the physical structure and neurofunctional response of the amygdala\u201d (M\u00e5nsson, 2016).<\/p>\n

This is good news for those of us who just got discouraged reading about epigenetics. CBT is the most widely used evidence-based<\/a> psychological treatment. It focuses on patterns in cognition, coping strategies, and emotional regulation. CBT subjects learn extensively about the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and they practice identifying maladaptive thoughts such as catastrophizing\u2014jumping to worst-case scenarios.<\/p>\n

In CBT, one learns to separate faulty thoughts and beliefs from one\u2019s emotional responses and, consequently, one\u2019s unhealthy behaviors. For example, when the thought \u201ceverything will turn out horribly\u201d leads to the feeling \u201cI might as well give up now,\u201d you are likely to give up and thus prove to yourself that you were right all along. After weeks or months of successful CBT treatment, a person should learn to recognize when they catastrophize and change the thought from \u201ceverything will turn out horribly\u201d to \u201cI can\u2019t predict the future; things may work out and surprise me,\u201d changing the emotional response and thus the behavior.<\/p>\n

Learning more about epigenetics and neuroplasticity gives us a reason to strive to be healthier and happier people. One, because they tell us that we can break negative thought patterns that keep us trapped in unhealthy behaviors. And two, because our actions impact our children\u2014both before we decide to have them and after we bring them into the world.<\/p>\n

If you struggle with negative thoughts and related behaviors, contact a therapist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Begley, S. (2011, September 12). Parents\u2019 depression and stress leaves lasting mark on children\u2019s DNA. Daily Beast.\u00a0<\/em>Retrieved from https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/parents-depression-and-stress-leaves-lasting-mark-on-childrens-dna<\/li>\n
  2. Essex, M. J., Boyce, W. T., Hertzman, C., Lam, L. L., Armstrong, J. M., Neumann, S. M. A., & Kobor, M. S. (2011, September 2). Epigenetic vestiges of early developmental adversity: Childhood stress exposure and DNA methylation in adolescence. Child Development<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/j.1467-8624.2011.01641.x<\/li>\n
  3. Kays, J. L., Hurley, R. A., & Taber, K. H. (2012, April 1). The dynamic brain: Neuroplasticity and mental health. Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 24<\/em>(2). Retrieved from https:\/\/neuro.psychiatryonline.org\/doi\/full\/10.1176\/appi.neuropsych.12050109<\/li>\n
  4. M\u00e5nsson, K. N. T., Salami, A., Frick, A., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., Furmark, T., & Boraxbekk, C.-J. (2016). Neuroplasticity in response to cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 6<\/em>(2). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4872422<\/li>\n
  5. Weaver, I. C., Cervoni, N., Champagne, F. A., D\u2019Alessio, A. C., Sharma, S., Seckl, J. R., … & Meaney, M. J. (2004). Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior. Nature Neuroscience, 7<\/em>(8). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/15220929<\/li>\n
  6. Weinhold, B. (2006). Epigenetics: The science of change.\u00a0Environmental Health Perspectives, 114<\/em>(3). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1392256<\/li>\n
  7. Zimmer, C. (2015, December 3). Fathers may pass down more than just genes, study suggests. The New York Times.\u00a0<\/em>Retrieved from https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/12\/08\/science\/parents-may-pass-down-more-than-just-genes-study-suggests.html<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Think you\u2019re destined to suffer because of your genes or experiences? Think again. Epigenetics, neuroplasticity, and cognitive behavioral therapy offer hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2934,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,623],"tags":[1263,1260,197,1261,984,1262],"class_list":["post-38022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-issues-treated","tag-cbt","tag-change","tag-cognitive-behavioral-therapy","tag-epigenetics","tag-negative-thoughts","tag-neuroplasticity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2934"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}