The Rat Park study, led by Bruce K. Alexander and colleagues, challenged traditional views on addiction by creating a more natural environment for rats. The study suggested that social and cultural isolation, rather than the inherent addictiveness of drugs, played a crucial role in addiction.
The study titled "Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Myths and Mechanisms" highlights the intricate interplay between genetics, epigenetics, and the environment in shaping hereditary information. With the human genome sequence, the focus has shifted to understanding how factors such as diet, air quality, and emotions might influence not just our genes but also those of future generations.
In a 2012 study, titled Does the perception that stress affects health matter? The association with health and mortality, researchers from Harvard University looked at the link between the belief that stress is bad for you and public death records. This study tracked 30,000 adults in the US. They concluded that both high amounts of stress and the perception that stress impacts health are each associated with poor health and mental health.
