Scientists have found evidence that the benefits of physical and mental exercise to the brain may be passed on to children as improved learning ability, without any change to the DNA sequence.
It is one more reason researchers encourage keeping both body and mind active, including mentally challenging activities such as puzzles as we age.
The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) placed mice in a stimulating environment with plenty of exercise and found that their offspring benefited.
Compared with the control group, the offspring of mice from the stimulating environment showed much better learning ability. They also showed significant improvements in synaptic plasticity, meaning how well nerve cells communicate with each other, which is the cellular basis for learning. That is an epigenetic effect.
What is epigenetics?
Epigenetics is the study of how the environment interacts with our genes.
For a long time it was believed that children can’t inherit traits that don’t modify the DNA sequence. Scientists now say otherwise.
Researchers have found that lifestyle circumstances such as trauma and stress can affect offspring. A poor diet, for instance, not only raises your own risk of disease but may raise your children’s as well.
This is known as epigenetic inheritance, and it involves no change in the DNA sequence.
How offspring acquire their parents’ physical and mental benefits
In the study, the benefits were passed on through RNA molecules carried in sperm alongside the paternal DNA.
According to Prof. André Fischer of DZNE, these RNA molecules alter brain development, boosting the connections between neurons and giving the offspring a cognitive advantage.
Prof. Marcus Pembrey of the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health said the research could help establish whether factors other than genetic inheritance and learning after birth contribute to an individual’s intelligence.
He added that if the mechanism were shown to apply to humans, it could help explain the Flynn effect: the rise in population IQ every decade over the last century.
Prof. Simon Fishel of the Private Care Group called the research fascinating, as it adds to the evidence that how we conduct our lives will affect our offspring.