Science

Celebration

(15,812 posts) Mon Dec 2, 2013, 01:44 PM Dec 2013

Mice inherit olfactory memory

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.3594.html

Using olfactory molecular specificity, we examined the inheritance of parental traumatic exposure, a phenomenon that has been frequently observed, but not understood. We subjected F0 mice to odor fear conditioning before conception and found that subsequently conceived F1 and F2 generations had an increased behavioral sensitivity to the F0-conditioned odor, but not to other odors.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/12/01/mice-inherit-specific-memories-because-epigenetics/

The researchers made mice afraid of a fruity odor, called acetophenone, by pairing it with a mild shock to the foot. In a study published a few years ago, Ressler had shown that this type of fear learning is specific: Mice trained to fear one particular smell show an increased startle to that odor but not others. What’s more, this fear learning changes the organization of neurons in the animal’s nose, leading to more cells that are sensitive to that particular smell.

Ten days after this fear training, Dias allowed the animals to mate. And that’s where the crazy begins. The offspring (known as the F1 generation) show an increased startle to the fruity smell even when they have never encountered the smell before, and thus have no obvious reason to be sensitive to it. And their reaction is specific: They do not startle to another odor called propanol. Craziest of all, their offspring (the F2 generation) show the same increased sensitivity to acetophenone.

7 replies

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Highlight:

Mice inherit olfactory memory (Original Post) Celebration Dec 2013 OP

The dirty fucking Lamarckians were right. Jackpine Radical Dec 2013 #1

that was my first reaction, too, but then I thought of something weirder.... mike_c Dec 2013 #2

Check out the whole new set of findings on epigenetics. Jackpine Radical Dec 2013 #3

this shows how long I have been on DU Celebration Dec 2013 #4

Attacked why? Jackpine Radical Dec 2013 #5

Lamarck, Lamarck, Lamarck Celebration Dec 2013 #6

Fascinating. Duer 157099 Dec 2013 #7

Jackpine Radical

(45,274 posts)

1. The dirty fucking Lamarckians were right.

Reply to Celebration (Original post)

Mon Dec 2, 2013, 01:50 PM

Dec 2013

mike_c

(36,281 posts)

2. that was my first reaction, too, but then I thought of something weirder....

Reply to Jackpine Radical (Reply #1)

Mon Dec 2, 2013, 02:03 PM

Dec 2013

The only way out of the Lamarkian dilemma is to find a mechanism by which specific odor aversions might have evolved in a single generation. Not likely. But what if mice HAD evolved a plastic, odor recognition system with a specific mechanism for informing a few future generations, i.e. a specific mechanism for sharing aversive odor conditioning with immediate, and perhaps future offspring? THAT is what selection might operate upon, not the specific conditioning response of the parent mice. Sort of an olfactory immune system through which parents can pass specific sensitivities to environmental toxins to their offspring. I wonder if it's sex linked?

It makes some post-hoc adaptive sense too-- mice have wide diet latitude and short generation times, so it's very likely that passing on specific aversions to offspring might enhance their survivorship.

Jackpine Radical

(45,274 posts)

3. Check out the whole new set of findings on epigenetics.

Reply to mike_c (Reply #2)

Mon Dec 2, 2013, 02:15 PM

Dec 2013

These mice are only a very small part of the emerging story.

Celebration

(15,812 posts)

4. this shows how long I have been on DU

Reply to Jackpine Radical (Reply #1)

Tue Dec 3, 2013, 08:41 AM

Dec 2013

When I first started posting findings like this on DU a few years ago, I was ATTACKED!

Now, I get few responses..............

Paradigm shift!

Jackpine Radical

(45,274 posts)

5. Attacked why?

Reply to Celebration (Reply #4)

Tue Dec 3, 2013, 10:14 AM

Dec 2013

Because epigenetics is some sort of challenge to scientism?

Celebration

(15,812 posts)

6. Lamarck, Lamarck, Lamarck

Reply to Jackpine Radical (Reply #5)

Tue Dec 3, 2013, 11:55 AM

Dec 2013

It was like they were parroting their high school science teachers or something.

I thought it was weird! I remember the first one I posted was about some birds that had adapted to something by getting red tips on their wings, and then they passed that tendency on...........

Let's see, I think I joined in 2004. Not sure when I posted the study showing that in a generation or two the color of wings of birds can change to adapt to the environment. It shouldn't have been such a big deal by then but old habits die hard with some people.

Duer 157099

(17,742 posts)

7. Fascinating.

Reply to Celebration (Original post)

Tue Dec 3, 2013, 04:09 PM

Dec 2013

This info is transmitted (apparently) directly by sperm. The fathers were not even in the same building as the offspring, so nurture is out.

The implications of this are beyond astronomical, imho.

It turns out that Olfr151, but not the other gene, is significantly less methylated in sperm from animals trained to fear acetophenone than in sperm from those trained to fear propanol. Because less methylation usually means a boost in gene expression, this could plausibly explain why these animals have more M71 receptors in their brains, the researchers say.

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