THE RELATIONSHIP OF TELOMERE LENGTH WITH BEHAVIOURAL PHENOTYPES IN HUMANS

Abstract

Telomeres are TTAGGG repeats protecting the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that shorten with each cell division. Telomere erosion thus can thus serve as a marker for cellular aging, a phenomenon which some studies suggest is exacerbated by inflammation and physiological oxidative damage including those caused by psychosocial stresses and unhealthy lifestyle choices. This dissertation examines the relationship between telomere length as measured by the quantitative PCR relative method (RTL) with a multidimensional model of successful aging, impatience as indexed by an incentivized experimental task, and dispositional mindfulness in a randomized control intervention study on mindfulness-based stress reduction. Additionally, the effect of DNA extraction method on RTL measurements and the concordance of RTL to the terminal restriction fragmentation method are evaluated. The findings observe significant association of RTL with many of the tested measures and suggest the possibility of RTL being developed and standardized into a biomarker for some behavioural phenotypes.