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=Welcome to Group 8: Epigenetics=  An article by Daniel Tencer of the newspaper __[|Ottawa Citizen]__ (Canada) covers the emerging field of epigenetics, which proposes that there is a "second code" of programming on top of our DNA, a code that -- unlike DNA -- can change during our lifetimes. Following is a summary of the Ottawa Citizen article. In the past half decade, epigenetics researchers have theorized that our diet, the chemicals we are exposed to and even our behavior toward one another can cause changes in the way our genes are expressed, and contribute (by making people more susceptible to) or trigger mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder - and some of the epigenetic changes may even be passed on to future generations. That, in turn, has caused many scientists to rethink almost everything we know about how genetic information is passed on from parent to child. The customary view on genetics has been in terms of black and white; we are born with certain genes, and in term they determine our “physiological existence”. Destiny isn’t written in the stars, but rather in our DNA. Scientists have deviated from this hard coded view, and found that not only are we influenced by our DNA, but our DNA is influenced by us. The life experiences we have, such as the food we eat, the people we meet, and the stress we endure, may alter the functioning of our genes, and the genes we pass on. This is the emergence of the epigenetics theory. Only 30 year’s young, epigenetics was created to fill in the blanks left by traditional genetic theory. __[|Identical Twins]__and occurrence of schizophrenia was a large question unanswered through genetic theory. Although identical twins share 100% of their DNA or genes, many cases have found 1 twin developed schizophrenia, while the other did not. Dr. Arturas Petronis, a prominent researcher from the Canadian Center for Addiction and Mental Health, began examining this twin discordance that occurred in about 50% of the twin cases with schizophrenia, 8 years ago. Although most geneticists believe __[|environmental factors]__play a significant role in mental illness development, none of them can provide specific information on what that means, or how it works. Petronis hopes that epigenetics may be the missing link. He found greater similarities between psychiatric patients in regards to epigenetic make-up, than when comparing these psychiatric patients to their own identical twins.
 * A radical gene theory gains momentum: 'Epigenetics' researchers say life experiences and nutrition affects gene function.**
 * SEISMIC SHIFT IN THINKING**

"Any two random people share 99.7 per cent of their DNA, but at the epigenetic level, people are very, very different," Petronis says. http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/003842.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics In [|biology] , **epigenetics ** is the study of changes in [|phenotype]  (appearance) or [|gene expression]  caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying [|DNA]  sequence, hence the name //epi- //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> (Greek: //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">επί //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- over, above) //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|genetics] //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. These changes may remain through <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|cell] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|divisions] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> for the remainder of the cell's life and may also last for multiple generations. However, there is no change in the underlying <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|DNA] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> sequence of the organism; <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|[1]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> instead, non-genetic factors cause the organism's genes to behave (or "express themselves") differently. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|[2]]

===<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">The best example of epigenetic changes in <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|eukaryotic] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> biology is the process of <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|cellular differentiation]  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">. During <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|morphogenesis] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">, <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|totipotent]  <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|stem cells]  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> become the various <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|pluripotent]  <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|cell lines]  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> of the <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|embryo]  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> which in turn become fully differentiated cells. In other words, a single fertilized egg cell – the <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|zygote] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> – changes into the many cell types including neurons, muscle cells, epithelium, blood vessels etc. as it continues to <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|divide]  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">. It does so by activating some genes while inhibiting others. <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[3]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">  Medicine <span style="font-family: sans-serif,helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Epigenetics has many and varied potential medical applications. Congenital genetic disease is well understood, and it is also clear that epigenetics can play a role, for example, in the case of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|Angelman syndrome] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|Prader-Willi syndrome] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">. These are normal genetic diseases caused by gene deletions or inactivation of the genes, but are unusually common because individuals are essentially <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|hemizygous] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> because of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|genomic imprinting] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">, and therefore a single gene knock out is sufficient to cause the disease, where most cases would require both copies to be knocked out. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[31]] ** === ===<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|edit] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">]  === <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Marcus Pembrey and colleagues also observed that the paternal (but not maternal) grandsons of Swedish boys who were exposed during preadolescence to famine in the 19th century were less likely to die of cardiovascular disease; if food was plentiful then <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|diabetes] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> mortality in the grandchildren increased, suggesting that this was a transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[40]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> The opposite effect was observed for females -- the paternal (but not maternal) granddaughters of women who experienced famine while in the womb (and their eggs were being formed) lived shorter lives on average. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[41]] ===<span style="float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 5px;">[ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|edit] <span style="float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 5px;">] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Cancer and developmental abnormalities === <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">A variety of compounds are considered as epigenetic <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|carcinogens] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">—they result in an increased incidence of tumors, but they do not show <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|mutagen] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> activity (toxic compounds or pathogens that cause tumors incident to increased regeneration should also be excluded). Examples include <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|diethylstilbestrol] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|arsenite] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|hexachlorobenzene] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">, and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|nickel] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> compounds. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Many teratogens exert specific effects on the fetus by epigenetic mechanisms. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[42]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[43]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> While epigenetic effects may preserve the effect of a teratogen such as <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|diethylstilbestrol] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> throughout the life of an affected child, the possibility of birth defects resulting from exposure of fathers or in second and succeeding generations of offspring has generally been rejected on theoretical grounds and for lack of evidence. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[44]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> However, a range of male-mediated abnormalities have been demonstrated, and more are likely to exist. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[45]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|FDA label information] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> for Vidaza(tm), a formulation of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|5-azacitidine] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> (an unmethylatable analog of cytidine that causes hypomethylation when incorporated into DNA) states that "men should be advised not to father a child" while using the drug, citing evidence in treated male mice of reduced fertility, increased embryo loss, and abnormal embryo development. In rats, endocrine differences were observed in offspring of males exposed to morphine. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[46]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> In mice, second generation effects of diethylstilbesterol have been described occurring by epigenetic mechanisms. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[47]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> In 2008, the National Institutes of Health announced that $190 million had been earmarked for epigenetics research over the next five years. In announcing the funding, government officials noted that epigenetics has the potential to explain mechanisms of aging, human development, and the origins of cancer, heart disease, mental illness, as well as several other conditions. Some investigators, like Randy Jirtle, PhD, of Duke University Medical Center, think epigenetics may ultimately turn out to have a greater role in disease than genetics. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[48]] ===<span style="float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 5px;">[ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|edit] <span style="float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 5px;">] === <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> Evolution <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Although epigenetics in multicellular organisms is generally thought to be a mechanism involved in differentiation, with epigenetic patterns "reset" when organisms reproduce, there have been some observations of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (e.g., the phenomenon of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|paramutation] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> observed in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|maize] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">). Although most of these multigenerational epigenetic traits are gradually lost over several generations, the possibility remains that multigenerational epigenetics could be another aspect to evolution and adaptation. These effects may require enhancements to the standard conceptual framework of the <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|modern evolutionary synthesis] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[32]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[33]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Epigenetic features may play a role in short-term adaptation of species by allowing for reversible phenotype variability. The modification of epigenetic features associated with a region of DNA allows organisms, on a multigenerational time scale, to switch between phenotypes that express and repress that particular gene. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[34]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;"> When the DNA sequence of the region is not mutated, this change is reversible. It has also been speculated that organisms may take advantage of differential mutation rates associated with epigenetic features to control the mutation rates of particular genes. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[34]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">Epigenetic changes have also been observed to occur in response to environmental exposure—for example, mice given some dietary supplements have epigenetic changes affecting expression of the <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|agouti gene] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">, which affects their fur color, weight, and propensity to develop cancer. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[35]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|[36]] ===<span style="float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 5px;">[ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-weight: normal;">[|edit] <span style="float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 5px;">]  === Jung's theory of archetypes supported by epigenetics, "transmitted epigenetic rules determine the direction in which culture develops" http://books.google.com/books?id=yV-ZE8pyZjkC&pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=epigenetics++carl+jung&source=bl&ots=aIpDaEXRFF&sig=EmIlyxE4Lml2A1QOaXlFhPKy_rA&hl=en&ei=SyqHS5XnPIHitgPqlZ3hBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false

The news for those who would argue that what is unique about humans is their capacity for the social acquisition and transmission of culture, a favored hypothesis for generations past of social anthropologists, is hardly better. Culture can minimally be defined as the existence of intra-species group differences in behavioral patterns and repertoires, which are not directly determined by ecological circumstances (such as the availability of particular resources employed in the differing behavioral repertoires), and which are learned and transmitted across generations. On this definition, there is ample evidence of cultural differences in foraging strategies, tool use, and social behaviors in chimpanzees (Whiten et al. 1999; de Waal 2001). Such a definition will also qualify, for example, epigenetically learned intra-species dialect differences between songbird communities as cultural and culturally transmitted behavior (Marler and Peters 1982). http://www.ibiblio.org/hhalpin/homepage/notes/Sinha1.pdf

Right now a revolutionary paradigm shift is undergoing in the science of genetics. It is called epigenetics. The term "epigenetic" refers to heritable traits that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence. This can occur over rounds of cell division, while some epigenetic features can effect transgenerational inheritance and are inherited from one generation to the next. Multigenerational epigenetics is today regarded as another aspect to evolution and adaptation. Examples of this is the paramutation observed in maize. In humans, epigenetic changes have been observed to occur in response to environmental exposure, that is, a sort of Lamarckian inheritance (Vid. Pembrey ME, Bygren LO, Kaati G, et al. Sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses in humans. Eur J Hum Genet 2006.) This is a most remarkable turnover in favour of Freud and Jung. Despite the controversy over his ideas, Freud refused to cede with his "Lamarckian" notions. Carl Jung also received much critique for his idea that the collective unconscious has acquired traits over the millennia. Genetics has been regarded a much slower process. For instance, in Jung, an important argument is that man's experiences during medieval time affect us strongly today, and is the foundation on which we stand as modern people. The medieval world, and classical antiquity, is part of our unconscious. However, other ethnic groups, such as African tribes, lack this layer. Other people still, such as the Chinese, have a different configuration of the collective unconscious, although the foundational layer is the same for all people on earth. The cultural forging of our unconscious nature is crucial to Jung's theory of archetypes.

The young science of epigenetics can corroborate such notions. Not only climatological, epidemic, and nutritive experiences can be transferred to coming generations. Culture is the most fundamental force that has shaped man's life through the aeons. Its effect is, in all likelihood, established in the genome in a few generations.

The concept implies that genes have a 'memory'; what you do in your lifetime, and what you are exposed to, could in turn affect your grandchildren. Epigenetics adds a whole new layer to genes beyond the DNA, the so called "epigenome". Among other things, it proposes a control system of 'switches' that turn genes on or off. The things that people experience, like nutrition and stress, can control these switches and cause heritable effects in humans. The switches themselves can also be inherited. This means that a 'memory' of an event could be passed through generations. A simple environmental effect could switch genes on or off - and this change could be inherited.

Epigenetics will change the way we view the importance of lifestyles and family relationships. Think of the heightened status of the therapist's work! Therapy not only concerns the actual patient, it also affects coming generations. As the effect is multiplicative, like a nuclear fission, therapists will come to be viewed as civilisational carriers. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.psychology.psychoanalysis/browse_thread/thread/9ca4bde3d00212ceMats Winther

Among a multitude of new developments, a symposium dedicated specifically to epigenetic developments in psychiatric and related research was organized at the 7th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics. The scientific term 'epigenetics' originates from //epigenesis//, which was one of the first developmental theories in embryology.[|1]According to epigenesis, complex organisms develop from undifferentiated cells, while the competing theory of preformation stated that embryos preexist in a smaller scale in the germ cells of animal and plants.[|2] While the last half of the 20th century has brought the realization that genes determine development, //epigenetics// has become a more adequate term to describe modifications of the genome that account for a diversity of cellular phenotypes in cells carrying identical DNA sequences. A variety of epigenetic phenomena have been identified over the last few decades.[|3] Significant progress was made in understanding the epigenetic mechanisms of //de novo// and maintenance DNA methylation, nuclear compartmentalization, and chromatin conformation.[|4] Epigenetics is still a relatively new branch of molecular biology, and epigeneticists are still exploring which phenomena belong to epigenetics. This uncertainty is well reflected by the presence of a variety of definitions describing epigenetics. Some definitions are very general and include 'all mechanisms that lead to the phenotypic expression of the genetic information of an individual'.[|5] Others concentrate on 'the nuclear inheritance which is not based on differences in DNA sequence',[|2] or even more specifically refer to 'modifications in gene expressions that are controlled by heritable but potentially reversible changes in DNA methylation and / or chromatin structure'.[|6] Despite the uncertainty of definitional boundaries for 'epigenetics', there is growing evidence demonstrating that epigenetic factors play a critical role in the normal functioning of genomes,[|7],[|8] and epigenetic defects, or epimutations,[|9] may be involved in human diseases.[|10],[|11] It is interesting to note that the journal //Science// predicts that in the next few years epigenetics may become a field of top scientific interest, along with Alzheimer's research, X-ray astronomy, river restoration, nanocomputers, and polio eradication.[|12] The roles for epigenetic factors in psychiatric disorders and related fields have seldom been investigated in a systematic way. Some relevant findings were discussed during a symposium conducted at the 1999 World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (abstracts of the presenters can be found in //Molecular Psychiatry// 1999; **4**, Suppl 1). http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v5/n4/full/4000750a.html

http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/erikson.stages.html http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Erik_Erikson

Erikson believed that childhood is very important in personality development. He accepted many of Freud's theories, including the id, ego, and superego, and Freud's theory of infantile sexuality. But Erikson rejected Freud's attempt to describe personality solely on the basis of sexuality, and, unlike Freud, felt that personality continued to develop beyond five years of age. All of the stages in Erikson's epigenetic theory are implicitly present at birth (at least in latent form), but unfold according to both an innate scheme and one's up-bringing in a family that expresses the values of a culture. Each stage builds on the preceding stages, and paves the way for subsequent stages. Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis, which is based on physiological development, but also on demands put on the individual by parents and/or society. Ideally, the crisis in each stage should be resolved by the ego in that stage, in order for development to proceed correctly. The outcome of one stage is not permanent, but can be altered by later experiences. Everyone has a mixture of the traits attained at each stage, but personality development is considered successful if the individual has more of the "good" traits than the "bad" traits.

<span style="font-family: sans-serif,sans-serif;"> The Erikson life-stage virtues, in the order of the stages in which they may be acquired, are:
 * 1) [|hope] - Basic Trust vs. Mistrust - Infant stage. Does the child believe its caregivers to be reliable?
 * 2) [|will] - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - Toddler stage. Child needs to learn to explore the world. Bad if the parent is too smothering or completely neglectful.
 * 3) [|purpose] - Initiative vs. Guilt - Kindergarten - Can the child plan or do things on his own, such as dress him or herself. If "guilty" about making his or her own choices, the child will not function well. Erikson has a positive outlook on this stage, saying that most guilt is quickly compensated by a sense of accomplishment.
 * 4) [|competence] - Industry vs. Inferiority - Around age 6 to puberty. Child comparing self worth to others (such as in a classroom environment). Child can recognise major disparities in personal abilities relative to other children. Erikson places some emphasis on the teacher, who should ensure that children do not feel inferior.
 * 5) [|fidelity] - Identity vs. Role Confusion - Teenager. Questioning of self. Who am I, how do I fit in? Where am I going in life? Erikson believes that if the parents allow the child to explore, they will conclude their own identity. However, if the parents continually push him/her to conform to their views, the teen will face identity confusion.
 * 6) [|love] (in intimate relationships, work and family) - Intimacy vs. Isolation - Young adult. Who do I want to be with or date, what am I going to do with my life? Will I settle down? This stage has begun to last longer as young adults choose to stay in school and not settle.
 * 7) [|caring] - Generativity vs. Stagnation - the Mid-life crisis. Measure accomplishments/failures. Am I satisfied or not? The need to assist the younger generation. Stagnation is the feeling of not having done anything to help the next generation.
 * 8) [|wisdom] - Ego Integrity vs. Despair - old age. Some handle death well. Some can be bitter, unhappy, dissatisfied with what they accomplished or failed to accomplish within their life time. They reflect on the past, and either conclude at satisfaction or despair.


 * http://www.rcgates.com/psyc/c2_pv.html

The psychologist [|Erik Erikson] developed an epigenetic theory of human development which focuses on psycho-social crises. In Erikson's view, each individual goes through several developmental stages, the transition between each of which is marked by a crisis. According to the theory, although the stages are largely predetermined by genetics, the manner in which the crises are resolved is not; by analogy with the epigenetic theory of cell differentiation, the process was said to be epigenetic.

Epigenetics** is the study of **epigenetic inheritance**, a set of reversible [|heritable] changes in [|gene] function or other cell [|phenotype] that occur without a change in[|DNA] sequence ([|genotype]). These changes may be induced spontaneously, in response to environmental factors, or in response to the presence of a particular[|allele], even if it is absent from subsequent generations.

http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Epigenetics

" <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Irving Gottesman (University of Virginia, VA, USA) opened the symposium with a brief historical introduction to epigenetics. Open-minded psychodynamically-oriented researchers, Singer and Wynne,[|13]while quantifying thought disorder in the families of schizophrenics, referred to their viewpoint as epigenetic: 'The interchanges or transactions at each developmental phase build upon the outcome of earlier transactions. . . . Constitutional and experiential influences combine in each developmental phase to create new biologic and behavioral potentialities which then help determine the next phase. If the transactions at any given developmental phase are distorted or omitted, all subsequent developmental phases will be altered'. Gottesman was the first in psychiatric genetic research to introduce the idea of epigenesis / epigenetics, in passing in his 1972 book with J Shields, and in detail at the Minnesota Symposium on Child Development in 1974, and again in the book entitled 'Schizophrenia: the epigenetic puzzle' in 1982.[|14] The 1982 book has been a stimulant in psychiatric genetic research over the last two decades. It is paradoxical that despite the popularity of the book, molecular epigenetic factors, ie chromatin structure and DNA modification, have never been investigated in schizophrenia. Gottesman emphasized that complex phenotypes such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, and schizophrenia, result from a complex interaction of genes, environment, and chance in the time dimension. This complexity can by no means be predicted with a high degree of certainty, and at present, he stated, we are 'in the business of probabilism, and not determinism as media people sometimes believe'."

http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v5/n4/full/4000750a.html