What makes someone HSP

I've seen a few articles that go through the brain differences and genetic differences that scientists think are associated with being HSP. However, I was listening to some research on the microbiome. They mentioned studies where they had cautious rats versus adventurous rats. The cautious rats would pause before trying new things. Sounded a lot like HSPs. They took some of the microbiome of the adventurous rats and gave it to the cautious rats. They became more adventurous. The reverse was true as well, adventurous rats could become more cautious. That left me wondering if the HSP trait is all truly genetic or if some of it might not be our genes but the genes of our microbiome and what type of microbes, fungi, etc. inhabit us. They've shown that the microbiome can have an effect on the brain. Plus, scientists are now finding bacteria in the brain which they had previously assumed was not the case. There's also the study of epigenetics which looks into the environment changing genes. So, wondering just how much the HSP trait is set in stone and how much might be based on other factors like our microbiome and our environment.

Makes sense about interactive factors. Waiting for a pill to be marketed that makes you 'more adventurous'; antidepressants may do this to some extent; alcohol can de-inhibit. A cup of coffee can help me face the day . A positive stimulating environment helps too. We are never totally set in stone unless we choose to play it that way.

p.s. Research with LSD has shown a person's whole outlook and perspective on life can be turned around for the better.

Grasshopper wrote:Waiting for a pill to be marketed that makes you 'more adventurous';

There are fecal transplant pills but one doesn't know what they're getting. They haven't really fully deciphered which bacteria, fungi, yeast, etc. are responsible for what yet. How they work in conjunction with other microbiota would be even more complicated to analyze. I did hear something about candia, streptococcus, escherichia and enterococcus producing serotonin. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium produce GABA. Bacillus and serratia produce dopamine. It also mentioned bifidobacterium infantis as an antidepressant. Just ran across this article that mentions some of the different strains and what studies have found they're good for:
https://foodandnutrition.org/from-the-magazine/the-potential-of-probiotics/

Many bacteria can be found in foods such as yogurt, kefir, fermented products, etc. There are also differences in efficacy when taken as part of food or as a supplement.

That's a really interesting question. HSP and how it's expressed could be due to inherited in vitro microbiome (HSP traits show up pretty much at birth, genetics, epigenetics, a combination thereof or something else entirely that also contributes: https://aeon.co/essays/why-evolution-is-not-a-tree-of-life-but-a-fuzzy-network?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits&cta=1&src=ph.

It turns out life gene swaps at all levels so the influence between beneficial organisms and humans could be at that level as well.

melodiccolor wrote:HSP and how it's expressed could be due to inherited in vitro microbiome (HSP traits show up  pretty much at birth, genetics, epigenetics, a combination thereof or something else entirely that also contributes: https://aeon.co/essays/why-evolution-is-not-a-tree-of-life-but-a-fuzzy-network.

Great article. Thanks for sharing the link.