A new discipline within genomic science that aims to investigate how sensory stimuli impact our DNA, seeking the molecular bases underlying the activation of our genetic information (DNA).
Currently, the first step of the research focuses on music and gene expression in the general population and various contexts of human pathology such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), brain damage, etc. Subsequently, we are interested in studying characteristics (phenotypes) related to music, for which candidate susceptibility genes already exist (absolute pitch, etc.). It has been reported that some of these phenotypes are related to specific pathologies, such as ASD, Williams Syndrome, etc.
There is a growing interest in the international scientific community for non-pharmacological therapies, as evidenced by the European Union’s support for these lines of research through initiatives like EraPerMed (via their Joint Translational Calls: “Prevention in Personalized Medicine”) or the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND: Understanding the Mechanisms of Non-Pharmacological Interventions).
Through sensogenomic research, we aim to understand whether there is a real potential for music as a form of therapy, aligning with new biomedical trends toward personalized medicine.
Imagine a future where music could be conceived as a stimulus capable of specifically acting on genome expression (DNA), thus awakening its biological potential in treating diseases.
Sensogenomics seeks, for the first time, to investigate the genetic bases behind the musical stimulus and to understand the biological mechanisms underlying this stimulus and our biological relationship with music.
Musical abilities, the neurophysiological processing of music, and many common pathologies and conditions (such as neurodegenerative diseases and autism spectrum disorder) have a multifactorial and polygenic genetic background (involving many genes). The genetic bases underlying these musical abilities, as well as the differential and individual sensitivity to external stimuli, can only be revealed through combined studies of genomic basis.
This includes the screening of common genetic variants in populations, genomic sequencing analysis for the detection of rare variants, gene expression analysis, the study of their regulation through epigenomics, and the direct products of expression (proteome), as well as the analysis of molecular elements that interact directly or indirectly in all these processes and that could represent biomarkers of interest (e.g., metagenomics/microbiota).
Considering the rapid evolution of technologies in recent years, as well as the possibility of applying them in this discipline, SENSOGENOMICS, it is interesting to incorporate new perspectives to approach the study of the molecular impact of music from other ‘omic’ sciences such as proteomics, metagenomics, and epigenomics. The sensogenomic study of diverse biological samples, such as blood, saliva, or tears, will also connect with the growing interest in the scientific community for the discovery of biomarkers of interest for complex diseases and conditions such as neurodegenerative ones.
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