Our deepest terrors and fears are written in our genes and change with age, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University (United States) published in the journalArchives of General Psychiatry.
To reach this conclusion, a team of researchers, led by Kenneth S. Kendler, has studied for more than a decade2,490 twins born in Swedenbetween 1985 and 1986. The volunteers were evaluated according to their level ofafraidto different factors, such aslightning bolts, thedarkness, thespiders, theheights, theclosed spaces, thebloodand thedentists. And they found that while at 8 years of age many of the identical twins shared their fear of the dark, in adolescence the phobia of blood and needles was more common.
As Kendler concludes, the nature of common fears evolves and changes during development. In other words, fear genes affect us differently throughout life. However, it is not the only thing to take into account. Genetics, says the researcher, determines only “ourvulnerabilitygeneral “, but education and life experiences also play a role.” Someone of low vulnerability could quickly develop a fear of flying after surviving a horrible plane crash, “he says.
Related Posts·The science of the unpredictable, by A. Muñoz Molina (The two cultures)
·Sick of fear (Health, 09/28/2007)
