Childhood maltreatment and stress-related psychopathology: the epigenetic memory hypothesis.
Fiche publication
Date publication
janvier 2015
Journal
Current pharmaceutical design
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Dr LUTZ Pierre-Eric
Tous les auteurs :
Lutz PE, Almeida D, Fiori LM, Turecki G
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
Childhood maltreatment (CM) is all too frequent among western societies, with an estimated prevalence of 10 to 15%. CM associates with increased risk of several psychiatric disorders, and therefore represents a worrying public and socioeconomic burden. While associated clinical outcomes are well characterized, determining by which mechanisms early-life adverse experiences affect mental health over the lifespan is a major challenge. Epigenetic mechanisms, in particular DNA methylation, represent a form of molecular memory that may modify brain function over extended periods of time, as well as serve as a bio-marker of behavioral phenotypes associated with CM. Here, we review human studies suggesting that DNA methylation is a crucial substrate mediating neurobiological consequences of CM throughout life, thereby potentiating maladaptive behavioral patterns and psychopathological risk.
Mots clés
Adult, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, psychology, Animals, Child, Child Abuse, psychology, DNA Methylation, genetics, Epigenesis, Genetic, Humans, Mental Disorders, etiology, Stress, Psychological, complications
Référence
Curr Pharm Des. 2015 ;21(11):1413-7