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Every man, woman, and mouse partakes in a different amount of voluntary physical activity. Some willingly run miles a day with no destination in mind, while others walk only when they need to get somewhere. Differences in how much physical activity mice choose to engage in is influenced by epigenetic changes in early development, according to a study published in Nature Communications on December 2.
“The study clearly shows that voluntary exercise behavior is sensitive to epigenetic influences, which is significant because, as the authors point out, it implies that there is a critical period in childhood where a ‘set point’ for exercise behavior is established,” Bluma Lesch, an epigenetics researcher at Yale University who was not involved in the study, tells The Scientist in an email. “It raises the key question: Can altering epigenetic marks later in life alter the behavioral phenotype?”
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