Trauma passed on through genes

Liggins Institute researcher Dr Tatjana Buklijas has been looking into the growing knowledge of intergenerational trauma and the idea that the effects of trauma can be passed on to the next generation via molecular changes in the DNA.

In an interview with Radio New Zealand Sunday Morning host Jim Mora, she describes advances in the fields of epigenetics, which looks at how experience is written into your DNA. She discusses evidence suggesting that genes are damaged when a person goes through extreme trauma and that fault is then inherited by the children - and what this could mean for social justice.

Listen to the full interview on the Radio New Zealand website.