1. A time sensitive mechanism is relevant to human beings. For children most physical, mental, and emotional developments are on a regulated time frame. Children’s language development is one strong example of this. Infants and toddlers need to be spoken to constantly at these ages in order to develop strong language skills. Younger children also have a greater capacity to learn different languages. This pattern is seen in cradling babies as well. Children need to be held in order to have typical mental and physical development. “Many children who have not had ample physical and emotional attention are at higher risk for behavioral, emotional and social problems as they grow up” (Katherine Harmon, Scientific American How Important is Physical Contact with Your Infant?”). The last example I will mention is the time sensitive effects of breastfeeding infants. Children who have been breastfed have been shown to have better mental and physical health outcomes than their peers who have not been breastfed. As other posts have mentioned breast milk is able to provide children with the exact nutrients they need.
2. Gruenewald’s findings are consistent with Weaver’s. Weaver develops a foundation of understanding the biology of genes and epigenetics. This foundation created by the Weaver paper can explain the biological mechanisms of the Gruenewald’s paper. An epigenetics mechanism could also explain the lack of significance between childhood and adulthood adverse experiences.
3. The idea that the environment affects genes is not a new concept, but the understanding of epigenetic changes that take place in DNA over a life course is new. I believe that GxE interactions could influence developmental trajectories across generations. This could explain why certain populations of people do not seem to have the same upwards mobility as others. There needs to be more research done on the inherited epigenetic effects and their impact on a person’s environment.