Epigenetic Intergenerational Transmission: Mothers ’ Adverse Childhood Experiences and DNA Methylation

Introduction Summary: Individual differences in risk for mental disorders over the lifespan are shaped by forces acting before the individual is born — in utero, but likely even earlier, during the mother’s own childhood. The environmental epigenetics hypothesis proposes that sustained effects of environmental conditions on gene expression are mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Recent human studies have shown that adversities in the early env ironment are correlated with DNA methylation in childhood.

Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - May 18, 2020 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Pamela Scorza, Cristiane S. Duarte, Seonjoo Lee, Haotian Wu, Jonathan E. Posner, Andrea Baccarelli, Catherine Monk Tags: Study Preregistration Source Type: research