UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

The evolutionary principles of Mendelian inheritance and Darwinist natural selection arenot exclusive to morphological expression. On a baseline level, evolution can be most observableand understood through physical features. With recent studies, evolution has been applied topsychiatric disorders and natural behaviors. Through the peer review of different academicliterature, evolution has expanded beyond the physical sciences and into the frontier of the socialsciences. The biological characteristics of inheritance and natural selection still apply to inheritedmental illnesses and behaviors because individuals are more likely to inherit mental illnesses orbehaviors from their parents. The transgenerational inheritance of adaptations to environmentalstimuli is a result of epigenetics. This adds a nuanced layer to the nature versus nurture debate.The novelties presented in the field of behavioral epigenetics broaden the perspective ofevolution and create potential diagnostics, preventions, and treatments for psychiatric andbehavioral disorders.