Potentially…Part 1

The Potential in Our Cells

One of the most fascinating things about being human is that we are made up of hundreds of billions of cells with billions of nucleic acids that communicate billions of instructions to each other each moment so that we can do whatever we are engaged in. We are also made up of nearly one hundred billion neurons and approximately the same number of billions of neuronal cells. Our brains are equally active sending signals to allow us to think and feel in whatever context we find ourselves in.

I write about both of these parts of the puzzle of life: the DNA in those cells and the brain. What most captivates me is that underlying them, there is an important principle that enables us to grow and become. That principle is potential. 

There is potential in our DNA code to transcribe the message in their acids in order to generate the proteins we need to do what we do. There is also potential in our brains to generate the electrochemical signals we need to think and feel what we think and feel. Given the right environment, our cells will go to work and we will thrive.

The Right Environment

 When scientists want to know the optimal environment for an organism’s development, they generate genetically identical organisms and then give them identical controlled environments, tweaking one element of the environment at a time to test what has a positive or negative impact. Insects like fruit flies are the cheapest and easiest to control on both accounts, but mice and rats are a better fit as an animal model because, as mammals, they share much of our neural architecture as well as the thoughts and emotions that go with it.

A good friend of mine is a neuroscientist who studies how social environments of such animal models impact their emotional states and thus their relationships. Her research focuses in part on the potential of brain cells to grow anew, even in adulthood. Her research shows us that aggressive responses to challenging social environments can literally transform the brain’s neural networks, spiraling an organism to produce more cells and connections that promote more aggressive behavior.

A colleague of hers who also studies how social environments affect emotions and relationships focuses on parenting and genetics. Her research finds that pups that experience stressful life events not only develop harmful emotional patterns in the brain but also the epigenome. Their DNA is modified to the point where it cannot transcribe, and therefore translate, its potential. Pups grow up with damaged systems and ever-worsening life chances. This is part of a larger body of research that proves how critical the environment is to our basic genetic functions, but also the potential to thrive or merely survive. 

What can we learn from this to push the needle towards thrive? Come back next week for more on potential. And make sure to sign up for my newsletter so that you can get your sneak preview of Rethinking Intelligence!