Childhood Maltreatment and Stress-Related Psychopathology: The Epigenetic Memory Hypothesis

Title:Childhood Maltreatment and Stress-Related Psychopathology: The Epigenetic Memory Hypothesis

Volume: 21 Issue: 11

Author(s): Pierre-Eric Lutz, Daniel Almeida, Laura M. Fiori and Gustavo Turecki

Affiliation:

Keywords: DNA methylation, epigenetics, early-life adversity, childhood maltreatment, stress.

Abstract: 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.

Cite this article as:

Lutz Pierre-Eric, Almeida Daniel, Fiori M. Laura and Turecki Gustavo, Childhood Maltreatment and Stress-Related Psychopathology: The Epigenetic Memory Hypothesis, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2015; 21 (11) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612821666150105124928