Human Genome Project Essay

7. Identify one finding from the Human Genome Project and discuss how it might impact our understanding of human behavior. One finding from the Human Genome Project includes the identification of “approximately 200 disease-related genes” (Ginsberg, Nackerud & Larrison, 2004, p. 118). This finding impacts our understanding of human behavior as it gives a better biological understanding of these diseases and it helps social workers to be better advocates for those who have these diseases. Our need to understand the diseases that affect our clients is one of the most important components of social work. Using social work practices that are based solely on perspective and that do not have a biological foundation gives social workers a lack of …show more content…
157). Basically, this means those who were exposed to stressful situations such as deployment or sexual trauma will continue to have stress reactions to those events due to the alterations of the brain’s nervous system. For example, these individuals with PTSD will have flashbacks in which they relive the trauma which will trigger the fight-or-flight response that was triggered during the traumatic experience. These individuals may also experience social symptoms such as isolation or staying away from stressful situations that may result in re-living the trauma. Other biological aspects of PTSD include “sleep abnormalities… some elevation of thyroid functions and higher than normal levels of natural opiates in the brain” (Ginsberg, Nackerud & Larrison, 2004, p. 157). These aspects may be caused by the alteration of the brain’s chemistry. For instance, if a person is stressed, they may be on high alert causing adrenaline to run through their system and also preventing the person from sleeping properly. These symptoms express a change in the brain’s chemistry due to the traumatic