Where do your instincts come from? Is genetic memory B.S?

[THREAD REVEALING ALL]

Let’s dive in

We’ll start by discovering the *crazy* result of a 2013 experiment that changed the course of evolutionary psychology forever

The experiment began with a caged mouse

The mouse was subjected to a new smell (neutral stimulus)

This smell was only available to the mouse minutes BEFORE they were to be shocked with electricity

The electricity here is the unconditioned stimulus

After many reps of this, the mouse began associating the smell with anticipation of a shock

The mouses amygdala lit up when this smell became present

It became terrified, adrenaline pumping

Because it knew what was in store in a few minutes time - pain

But there was an even crazier part to this experiment that will change how you view yourself and everyone you know

I’ll get to it in a sec, firstly I want u to think abt phobias.

Where do they come from?
Things like the fear of:
+The color yellow
+Rain
+Trees
+Falling asleep

Time for the unimaginable part. The discovery that shocked scientists everywhere:

The mouse that was subjected to this fear+smell conditioning had offspring

The offspring was hooked up to a brain scanner

They were then subjected to the smell used in their parents experiment

Keep in mind that the baby mice had no contact with the conditioning their parents had.

The the scientists disbelief, the fear center in baby mouses brain lit up

The progeny of the original mouse had inherited this memory of the association between pain and the smell

Now, extrapolate this

What instincts/genetic memories do you have that are completely outdated?

Can you access them? How?

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