The DOI matches its Crossref record; 137 of the 137 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 127 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics
Open accessAbstract
Although we generally experience our bodies as being biologically stable across time and situations, an emerging field of research is demonstrating that external social conditions, especially our subjective perceptions of those conditions, can influence our most basic internal biological processes—namely, the expression of our genes. This research on human social genomics has begun to identify the types of genes that are subject to social-environmental regulation, the neural and molecular mechanisms that mediate the effects of social processes on gene expression, and the genetic polymorphisms that moderate individual differences in genomic sensitivity to social context. The molecular models resulting from this research provide new opportunities for understanding how social and genetic factors interact to shape complex behavioral phenotypes and susceptibility to disease. This research also sheds new light on the evolution of the human genome and challenges the fundamental belief that our molecular makeup is relatively stable and impermeable to social-environmental influence.
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Claims the paper makes
64 Not checked yet · 23 Own interpretation · 13 No basis given
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“social-environmental conditions influence basal transcriptome activity via central nervous system control of neural and endocrine processes (Cole, 2010; Irwin & Cole, 2011; McEwen, 2007; Miller, Chen, & Cole, 2009; Sterling, 2004).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Human Gene Expression
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole, 2010
- Not checked yetcites Irwin & Cole, 2011
- Not checked yetcites McEwen, 2007
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The fact that social-environmental factors can cause broad changes in human gene expression represents a paradigm shift in research on Gene × Environment interplay”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“social isolation is associated with increased risk for mortality (Berkman & Kawachi, 2000; Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010; House, 2001; House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988; Virchow, 1848/2006).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Socially Sensitive Genes
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Berkman & Kawachi, 2000
- Not checked yetcites Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010
- Not checked yetcites House, 2001
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These new discoveries suggest that the external social world may exert these effects in part by influencing our most deeply internal biological processes—namely, the expression of our genes.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“environmental factors such as geographic location can regulate the expression of approximately 10 times as many genes as genetic factors.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Socially Sensitive Genes
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“an emerging field of research is demonstrating that external social conditions, especially our subjective perceptions of those conditions, can influence our most basic internal biological processes—namely, the expression of our genes.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“certain genes can be “turned on” and “turned off” by different social-environmental conditions.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“central nervous system regulation of human gene expression is critical for accelerating wound healing and limiting the spread of infection when physical injury has occurred.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Human Gene Expression
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“some social- environmental factors, such as social isolation and rejection, can influence the activity of not just a couple of genes but broad sets of hundreds of genes (i.e., gene profiles or gene programs).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“social-environmental conditions, even purely imagined or symbolic cognitive representations of such conditions, can also trigger broad shifts in the basal transcriptome”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Human Gene Expression
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 28
- Probably not a substantial claim. 3
In the paper
“one study scanned the entire genome and found that whereas approximately 5% of differentially expressed genes could be attributed to genetic factors associated with gender and ancestry, more than 50% of differentially expressed genes were attributable to living in rural versus urban environments (Idaghdour et al., 2010).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Socially Sensitive Genes
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Idaghdour et al., 2010
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Because these pathways can be activated simply by subjective experiences of the world as hostile or threatening, however, genome-wide transcriptional skewing that is imperative for surviving physical injury can also occur in the absence of actual physical danger, giving these dynamics the ability to affect risk for certain diseases”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Human Gene Expression
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The human genome, therefore, is not a static blueprint for human potential. Instead, our genome appears to encode a wide variety of “potential biological selves,” and which “biological self” gets realized depends on the social conditions we experience over the life course.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“It has long been known that social-environmental conditions can shape complex behavioral phenotypes and susceptibility to disease (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Compared to socially integrated individuals, people experiencing chronic social isolation showed enhanced expression of proinflammatory immune response genes and a reciprocal downregulation of antiviral immune response genes.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Socially Sensitive Genes
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al., 2007
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“chronic activation of the leukocyte CTRA in response to nonphysical (i.e., social) stressors contributes to a paradoxical increase in both (a) inflammation-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and depression, caused by excessive proinflammatory immune response gene expression, and (b) vulnerability to viral infections such as the common cold, caused by insufficient antiviral immune”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Findings from nonhuman animal models about social influences on gene expression can be generalized to humans.
- Rests on an assumption: Leukocyte basal transcriptome changes reflect systemic immune function relevant to disease risk.
In the paper
“macaques that were experimentally relegated to a lower social dominance rank exhibited upregulated expression of proinflammatory immune response genes and a related increase in glucocorticoid resistance, thus matching the previously described effects of social isolation on human gene expression.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Socially Sensitive Genes
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Tung et al., 2012
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Findings from nonhuman animal models about social influences on gene expression can be generalized to humans.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“At the same time, sympathetic nervous system/βAR signaling also inhibits interferon response factor transcription factors, which suppresses antiviral immune response gene expression and increases a person’s susceptibility to viral infection (Collado-Hidalgo, Sung, & Cole, 2006; Miller et al., 2008; Sloan et al., 2007; Sloan et al., 2010).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Social SignalTransduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Collado-Hidalgo, Sung, & Cole, 2006
- Not checked yetcites Miller et al., 2008
- Not checked yetcites Sloan et al., 2007
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“GATA transcription factors are expressed in a wide variety of tissues and regulate gene transcription in multiple stress-relevant organs, including the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenals (Viger, Guittot, Anttonen, Wilson, & Heikinheimo, 2008).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Social SignalTransduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Viger, Guittot, Anttonen, Wilson, & Heikinheimo, 2008
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“As a result of decreased glucocorticoid receptor cross-regulation, NF-κB and AP-1 are de-repressed—that is, they are no longer inhibited from binding to gene promoters—thereby upregulating the proinflammatory component of the CTRA, leading to increased inflammatory activity (Cole et al., 2007; Pace, Hu, & Miller, 2011; Wohleb et al., 2011).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Social SignalTransduction
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al., 2007
- Not checked yetcites Pace, Hu, & Miller, 2011
- Not checked yetcites Wohleb et al., 2011
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“both a general tendency to be unsociable and exposure to 3 weeks of social instability upregulate expression of the gene that codes for nerve growth factor beta (NGF) in rhesus macaque lymph nodes”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Transcriptional Embedding of Social Experience
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Sloan et al., 2007
- Not checked yetcites Sloan et al., 2008
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“G allele carriers exhibited increased risk for inflammation-related causes of death (e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes) but not for noninflammation-related causes of death (e.g., respiratory failure, trauma).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concretizing Gene-Environment Interactions
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al., 2010
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These dynamics have also been shown to trigger increased arborization of sympathetic nervous system fibers in the lymph node, which expands the regulatory pipeline from the brain to the immune system, making local leukocyte immune response gene and NGF transcription increasingly sensitive to social-environmental input.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Transcriptional Embedding of Social Experience
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Over time, this dynamic can become locked in a self-promoting positive feedback cycle that perpetuates sympathetic nervous system hyperinnervation, possibly leading to sustained subjective perceptions of heightened threat”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Transcriptional Embedding of Social Experience
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole, 2012
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“data increasingly suggest that plasticity alleles may be associated with a diverse array of phenotypes, including emotion perception and neural system activation, expression of distinct life history strategies involving reproductive and antisocial behavior, the development of human social networks, socioeconomic influences on depression, and the coevolution of genes and culture”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concretizing Gene-Environment Interactions
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“These phenotypic plasticity alleles confer increased advantage in favorable environments and increased risk in adverse environments”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concretizing Gene-Environment Interactions
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Boyce et al., 2012
- Not checked yetcites Gibson, 2008
- Not checked yetcites Way & Taylor, 2010
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“the approach helps map the social signal transduction pathway involved in inflammation-related disease in a way that highlights specific biological strategies, such as βAR blockade, that can be used for mitigating Gene × Environment-gated health risks”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concretizing Gene-Environment Interactions
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al., 2010
- Not checked yetcites Sloan et al., 2010
- Not checked yetcites Wohleb et al., 2011
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“for maximal phenotypic impact to occur, an individual has to have both an environmentally sensitive genotype (i.e., the IL6 G allele) and a social threat–related functional activation of this genotype, as indexed by sympathetic nervous system/βAR/GATA1 signaling.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concretizing Gene-Environment Interactions
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“only one study to date has examined how neurocognitive perceptions of the external social world relate to inflammatory biology, and this study found that individuals who exhibited greater neural responses to social rejection in pain-related neural regions—specifically, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral anterior insula—had greater inflammatory responses to a laboratory-based social”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Topics for Further Clarification and Research
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich, Way, et al., 2010
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The notion that the activity of our own genome is determined in part by the transcriptomes of others suggests the existence of a human metagenome—a system that is likely to generate complex emergent properties as transcriptional dynamics propagate through networks of genomes”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > The Human Metagenome
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Kauffman, 1993
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Initial evidence for such sensitization is suggested by research showing that neural activity can regulate inflammatory processes (Slavich, Way, et al., 2010) and that changes in inflammation can in turn influence neural activity (Eisenberger, Inagaki, Rameson, Mashal, & Irwin, 2009).”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Topics for Further Clarification and Research
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich, Way, et al., 2010
- Not checked yetcites Eisenberger, Inagaki, Rameson, Mashal, & Irwin, 2009
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Objective and subjective network characteristics regulate distinct groups of immune response genes (Cole et al., 2007; Cole et al., 2011), as well as neural-regulatory genes (Berton et al., 2006; Robinson et al., 2008; Weaver et al., 2006), but their effects on other types of genes and bodily tissues remain poorly understood.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > The Human Metagenome
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al., 2007
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al., 2011
- Not checked yetcites Berton et al., 2006
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Because our cells are continually involved in a process of self-regeneration, experiences occurring at any point in time can influence human functioning for weeks through regenerative plasticity and for months and years via neuromolecular sensitization”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Topics for Further Clarification and Research
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole, 2009
- Not checked yetcites Irwin & Cole, 2011
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Cells continually self-regenerate.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Activating a transcriptional response that reduces risk of injury and infection during actual physical danger makes good adaptive sense; when such a response is deployed during contemporary social stressors, however, the health risks can easily outweigh the benefits, particularly if the response is prolonged by neurocognitive mechanisms or transcriptional embedding.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > The Human Metagenome
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The system just described, for example, appears to be involved in the experience of social-environmental threat and includes the amygdala, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral anterior insula.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Topics for Further Clarification and Research
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The discovery that social-environmental factors can substantially alter the expression of literally hundreds of genes and that the types of genes that are differentially expressed can be meaningfully identified as gene programs or profiles represents a paradigm shift in thinking on gene-environment interactions.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concluding Comments
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“these results provide new theoretical and computational modeling frameworks that link human molecular genetics to genomic evolution and gene-culture coevolution.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concluding Comments
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“These data thus provide the first evidence that psychological interventions can reverse stress-induced genomewide transcriptional responses such as the CTRA, which may in turn have implications for human health”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Topics for Further Clarification and Research
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Finch, 2007, 2010
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“this burgeoning field of research has begun to identify the specific types of genes that are subject to social-environmental regulation, the neural and molecular mechanisms that mediate the effects social processes have on gene expression, and the genetic polymorphisms that moderate the extent to which social conditions cause transcriptional shifts.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concluding Comments
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“our presence in different social groups means that we are transcriptionally connected, giving rise to a human metagenome that has implications for collective health and behavior.”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Concluding Comments
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.
The authors state this as an assumption.
Transcription factor binding has taken place.
“Assuming that binding has taken place, though, this process upregulates the transcription of DNA into mRNA”
The paper relies on this without support.
Findings from nonhuman animal models about social influences on gene expression can be generalized to humans.
“Converging evidence of such effects is provided by experimental research in mammalian model organisms (Cole et al., 2010; Cole et al., 2012; Sloan et al., 2010; Wohleb et al., 2011).”
The paper relies on this without support.
Leukocyte basal transcriptome changes reflect systemic immune function relevant to disease risk.
“Because immune system functioning has important implications for health (Dhabhar, 2003; Glaser & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005; Medzhitov, 2008), these studies focused on differential expression of two distinct modules of immune response genes”
The paper relies on this without support.
Subjective experiences are shaped in part by the reality of the surrounding social environment.
“especially since peoples’ subjective experiences are shaped in part by the reality of their surrounding social environment.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Cells continually self-regenerate.
“Because our cells are continually involved in a process of self-regeneration”
The paper relies on this without support.
Leukocyte transcriptional dynamics evolved to counter the differing microbial exposures historically associated with friendly versus threatening conditions.
“Our perspective is that leukocyte transcriptional dynamics have evolved to counter the differing types of microbial exposure that have historically been associated with friendly versus threatening conditions.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The bulk of prior human social genomics research has used correlational designs.
“since most of the existing studies on human social genomics are correlational”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Rather, genes act as followers, not prime movers, in developmental processes.”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1 (2019) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Epigenetic adaptation is the biological process through which these reciprocal individual-context relations create qualitative changes to the expression of our genetic makeup over time, both within and across generations.”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1 (2019) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Genetic and epigenetic processes, in concert with early experience, shape neuronal connections and give rise to neural circuits that enable increasingly complex mental activities (Jablonka & Lamb, 2005;Moore, 2015;Slavich & Cole, 2013).”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1 (2019) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“The relationships and experiences that guide the maturation of a child's developing neurobiological systems are themselves nested within larger micro-and macrosystems”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1 (2019) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“the fact that neural responses to contemporary threats like social evaluation and rejection may up-regulate systemic inflammation, and that increases in inflammation may in turn promote neural sensitivity to social rejection, suggests that activity in pain-related neural systems and systemic inflammation may be mutually promoting and, over time, become engaged in a recursive loop that increases”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“engagement of these pathways may become selfpromoting as a result of neuro-inflammatory sensitization and thus drive heightened levels of inflammation and exaggerated perceptions of social threat for months or years after the original social-environmental impetus has passed”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“the industrial revolution and modern era have ushered in changes in social interactions and sleep quality59,91 that can promote SCI149,150 and insulin resistance151, in turn increasing risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, CVD and all-cause mortality150–154”
From Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span (2019) · cites this paper as [91]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“adverse social experiences characterized by loss or threat activate proinflammatory cytokine activity (Giletta et al. 2018, Slavich & Cole 2013) and trigger alterations in the genes regulating proinflammatory cytokine production (Slavich et al. 2010)”
From Adolescent Suicide as a Failure of Acute Stress-Response Systems. (2019) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole 2013
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“As packages of biological instructions, genes require signals to determine which processes are carried out, with social and physical contexts influencing if, when, how, and which genes are expressed (Keating, 2016;Moore, 2015;Slavich & Cole, 2013).”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context1 (2019) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“As summarized by Slavich and Cole (2013), however, recent research has demonstrated that this same innate immune system response can be activated in the contemporary social environment when an individual is exposed to adverse conditions involving social conflict, evaluation, rejection, isolation, or exclusion perhaps because of the implications these conditions historically had for physical danger”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich and Cole (2013)
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“As depicted in Figure 1 and described more fully by Slavich and Cole (2013), this increased proinflammatory/ reduced antiviral skewing of our basal gene expression profile, called the basal transcriptome, appears to represent a conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) that is adaptive in countering injuries associated with actual physical threat”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich and Cole (2013)
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The effect of a particular polymorphism on health, however, is realized only when a gene is expressed-that is, when DNA is transcribed into RNA and translated into protein”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“whole gene programs or gene profiles, such as the CTRA, can be activated by adverse social conditions”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“genomic processes, including stress-associated transcriptional shifts, that reveal that social stressors can impact the molecular activation of inflammation”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“these social signal transduction pathways can also be activated by purely symbolic, anticipated, or imagined threats, which include things that have not yet happened or that may never actually occur”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“These interactions cause NFκ B and AP-1 to translocate into the nucleus of the cell where they bind to cis -regulatory DNA sequences and up-regulate the expression of proinflammatory immune response genes including IL1B, IL6, IL8, and TNF”
From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
In the citing paper
“In combination with SNS/β-adrenergic regulation of focal transcriptional programs in existing monocytes and de novo monocyte production through myelopoiesis, social threat–induced neoinnervation of lymphoid tissues provides three distinct gene regulatory dynamics that converge to up-regulated CTRA gene expression in immune cells during extended periods of social threat or adversity [36].”
From Human Social Genomics (2014) · cites this paper as [36]
In the citing paper
“In both, chronic threat and SNS signaling activate tissue-specific transcriptional defense programs that enhance organismic mobility and prime wound healing and antimicrobial responses to tissue injury [3], [5], [36].”
From Human Social Genomics (2014) · cites this paper as [36]
In the citing paper
“the host defense program is activated by non-physical social, symbolic, anticipated, or imagined threats”
From Sleep health: Reciprocal regulation of sleep and innate immunity (2017) · cites this paper as Slavich and Cole, 2013
In the citing paper
“with evidence that sleep disturbance leads to a similar response”
From Sleep health: Reciprocal regulation of sleep and innate immunity (2017) · cites this paper as Slavich and Cole, 2013
In the citing paper
“Emerging research indicates that early social environments, including individuals’ subjective perceptions of their environment, produce changes in gene expression (Slavich & Cole, 2013).”
From Associations Between Early Life Stress and Gene Methylation in Children (2015) · cites this paper as Slavich & Cole, 2013
In the citing paper
“The impetus for this research was inspired by a wealth of research showing e that developing caring and compassion-focused motives for self and others has a range of benefits: on genetic expression [14, 31, 109], physiological processes [9, 68, 71, 73, 107, 108], psychological processes [63, 64, 66, 108], and social relationships [16, 18, 100].”
From The development of compassionate engagement and action scales for self and others (2017) · cites this paper as [109]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity
“acute psychological stress (Kawai et al., 2007; Nater et al., 2009)”
§ The Emerging Field of Human Social Genomics > References
“66. Kawai T Morita K Masuda K Nishida K Shikishima M Ohta M Rokutan K 2007 Gene expression signature in peripheral blood cells from medical students exposed to chronic psychological stress Biological Psychology 76 147 155 17766027 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.07.008”
Citations
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Weaver, I. C. G., Cervoni, N., Champagne, F. A., D'Alessio, A. C., Sharma, S., Seckl, J. R., Dymov, S., Szyf, M., & Meaney, M. J. (2004) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1276 · Cited by 6,177
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“In the very different health ecology of the contemporary social world (Finch, 2010; Gibson, 2009; McEwen, 2007; Richerson, Boyd, & Henrich, 2010; Sterling, 2004), however, chronic activation of the leukocyte CTRA in response to nonphysical (i.”
BackgroundInfluentialNolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x · Cited by 5,172
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Keltner D., 2010, The compassionate instinct: The science of human goodness
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span
Furman, D., Campisi, J., Verdin, E., Carrera-Bastos, P., Targ, S., Franceschi, C., Ferrucci, L., Gilroy, D. W., Fasano, A., Miller, G. W., et al. (2019) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0 · Cited by 4,915
Self-citationSlavich, G. M., & Irwin, M. R. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0035302 · Cited by 2,206
Self-citationThe origins and nature of compassion focused therapy
Gilbert, P. (2014) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjc.12043 · Cited by 1,593
Allen, K., Kern, M. L., Rozek, C. S., McInerney, D. M., & Slavich, G. M. (2021) · Australian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00049530.2021.1883409 · Cited by 1,283
Self-citationSleep health: Reciprocal regulation of sleep and innate immunity
Irwin, M. R., & Opp, M. R. (2017) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2016.148 · Cited by 624
Metadata
- Authors
- Slavich, G. M., & Cole, S. W.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
- Corresponding author
- Slavich, George M.
- ORCID
- Slavich, George M.
- Venue
- Clinical Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-03-05
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 331-348
- ISSN
- 2167-7026 (ISSN-L)
- 2167-7034
- PMC
- PMC3707393
- OpenAlex
- W2093190722
- Semantic Scholar
- d287cb1ed68b8156f4521764121f1041eda0c45e
- Cited by
- 523
- References
- 137
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 63 · 2020: 71 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 10
- FWCI
- 19.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Clinical Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R37AG033590, P30AG028748, R01AG033590, P30AG017265)
- National Cancer Institute (R01CA116778)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Keywords
- gene expression, genetic polymorphism, gene-environment interaction, behavioral phenotypes, disease susceptibility, epigenetics
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