A review of epigenetics in human consciousness

Abstract

The field of epigenetics, which is the study of factors regulating gene transcription, is expanding rapidly. Yet one area that has received little attention is the influence of epigenetic factors on human consciousness. We examine this topic by investigating how transcriptional regulation modulates the development and ongoing functioning of the human brain, mediates interactions between the environment and the genome, and may contribute to the evolution of consciousness. Epigenetics is demonstrated to play an instrumental role in human consciousness throughout the lifespan and over the course of multiple generations. Further research is recommended to broaden and deepen our understanding of the relationship between epigenetics and human consciousness.

Keywords

• cellular memory
• brain
• chromatin
• dna
• dna methylation
• histone modification
• neuroepigenetics
• non-coding rnas
• transgenerational epigenetic inheritance