The gene arguments are moving too fast for amateur observers. The Wordability consultant on these matters is the learned Dr Strabismus, who writes:
Don’t kid yourself that the decoded genome will provide a comprehensive explanation of human behavior any time soon. We’ll probably see more and more linkages to some big time mental illnesses – e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar depression etc. But except for a few major standouts (e.g. Huntington’s chorea), the degree of gene-disease correlation looks pretty disappointing so far.
More and more, we are seeing the importance of epigenetics i.e. the modification of gene activity by “experience”. Several genes are switched on by exposure to chemical toxins, and some fascinating new data demonstrates that emotional trauma in childhood can up- or down-regulate genes in various parts of the brain (e.g. in the hippocampus, where memories are processed).
Nor does the brand-new babe start off as a tabula rasa. Now comes evidence that modulation of some genes can be transmitted over one or more generations. Lamarck and Lysenko may not have been completely off-base, after all.