1
|
Santaguida E, Bergamasco M. A perspective-based analysis of attachment from prenatal period to second year postnatal life. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1296242. [PMID: 38840732 PMCID: PMC11150629 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1296242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Attachment is one of the foundational themes in the history of the psychological development of human beings. For this reason, we assume that it must be approached by taking into account multiple scientific perspectives. The present review aims at analyzing the state of the art regarding the genetic, neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of attachment bonding, considering the child as the frame of reference. We hypothesize that attachment may be present in prototypical forms even in the prenatal period, thus our analysis has a temporal origin in the intrauterine period preceding birth. The intrauterine period is assumed to be a period of maximum sensitivity to stimuli and in particular to those coming from a potential primary caregiver: the biological mother. We conclude with a reframing of the state of the art and propose that future research work would benefit from a superordinate model of attachment, capable of containing and regulating all its components and variables.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erica Santaguida
- Institute of Mechanical Intelligence, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rinne GR, Podosin M, Mahrer NE, Shalowitz MU, Ramey SL, Dunkel Schetter C. Prospective associations of prenatal stress with child behavior: Moderation by the early childhood caregiving environment. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-12. [PMID: 38738363 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424000920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Fetal exposure to prenatal stress can increase risk for psychopathology but postnatal caregiving may offset risk. This study tests whether maternal sensitivity and the home environment during early childhood modify associations of prenatal stress with offspring behavior in a sample of 127 mother-child pairs (n = 127). Mothers reported on perceived stress during pregnancy. Maternal sensitivity was rated by coders during a parent-child free play task when children were 4 years old. One year later, mothers reported on the home environment, child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and children completed an assessment of inhibitory control. As hypothesized, the early childhood caregiving environment modified associations of prenatal stress with child behavior. Specifically, prenatal stress was associated with more internalizing behaviors at lower levels of maternal sensitivity and in home environments that were lower in emotional support and cognitive stimulation, but not at mean or higher levels. Furthermore, prenatal stress was associated with lower inhibitory control only at lower levels of maternal sensitivity, but not at higher levels. Maternal sensitivity and an emotionally supportive and cognitively stimulating home environment in early childhood may be important factors that mitigate risk for mental health problems among children exposed to prenatal stress.
Collapse
|
3
|
Mepham J, Nelles-McGee T, Andrews K, Gonzalez A. Exploring the effect of prenatal maternal stress on the microbiomes of mothers and infants: A systematic review. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22424. [PMID: 37860905 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS)-characterized by exposure to stress, anxiety, depression, or intimate partner violence-has been linked to biological alterations in infants, including disruptions to their intestinal microbiota, which have long-term implications for children's developmental outcomes. Significant research has been done examining the effects of PNMS on the microbiome in animals, but less is known about these effects in human research. The current systematic review aimed to synthesize current findings on the association between PNMS and mother and infant microbiomes. Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Eric databases were searched through to February 2022. A total of eight studies (n = 2219 infants, 2202 mothers) were included in the qualitative synthesis. Findings provided promising evidence of the role that PNMS plays in altering the microbial composition, diversity, and gut immunity in mothers and infants. Notably, majority of included studies found that higher PNMS was linked to increases in genera from the phylum Proteobacteria. The factors influencing these effects are explored including nutrition, birth mode, and parenting behaviors. Potential interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of PNMS are discussed, along with recommendations for future studies with longitudinal designs to better understand the appropriate type and timing of interventions needed to promote "healthy" maternal and infant microbial functioning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Mepham
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Taylor Nelles-McGee
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Krysta Andrews
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrea Gonzalez
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kryklywy JH, Vyas P, Maclean KE, Todd RM. Characterizing affiliative touch in humans and its role in advancing haptic design. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023; 1528:29-41. [PMID: 37596987 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
An emerging view in cognitive neuroscience holds that the extraction of emotional relevance from sensory experience extends beyond the centralized appraisal of sensation in associative brain regions, including frontal and medial-temporal cortices. This view holds that sensory information can be emotionally valenced from the point of contact with the world. This view is supported by recent research characterizing the human affiliative touch system, which carries signals of soft, stroking touch to the central nervous system and is mediated by dedicated C-tactile afferent receptors. This basic scientific research on the human affiliative touch system is informed by, and informs, technology design for communicating and regulating emotion through touch. Here, we review recent research on the basic biology and cognitive neuroscience of affiliative touch, its regulatory effects across the lifespan, and the factors that modulate it. We further review recent work on the design of haptic technologies, devices that stimulate the affiliative touch system, such as wearable technologies that apply the sensation of soft stroking or other skin-to-skin contact, to promote physiological regulation. We then point to future directions in interdisciplinary research aimed at both furthering scientific understanding and application of haptic technology for health and wellbeing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James H Kryklywy
- Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
| | - Preeti Vyas
- Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Karon E Maclean
- Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Rebecca M Todd
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Provenzi L, Bussu G, Riva V. Editorial: Risk and protective factors, family environment and (a)typical neurodevelopmental outcomes. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1221338. [PMID: 37408973 PMCID: PMC10319110 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1221338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Livio Provenzi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Developmental Psychobiology Lab, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giorgia Bussu
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Developmental Psychology Division, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Valentina Riva
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Lecco, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Holdsworth EA, Schell LM, Appleton AA. Maternal-infant interaction quality is associated with child NR3C1 CpG site methylation at 7 years of age. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23876. [PMID: 36779373 PMCID: PMC10909417 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/14/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Infancy is both a critical window for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis development, and a sensitive period for social-emotional influences. We hypothesized that the social-emotional quality of maternal-infant interactions are associated with methylation of HPA-axis gene NR3C1 later in childhood. METHODS Using a subsample of 114 mother-infant pairs from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), linear regression models were created to predict variance in methylation of seven selected CpG sites from NR3C1 in whole blood at age 7 years, including the main predictor variable of the first principal component score of observed maternal-infant interaction quality (derived from the Thorpe Interaction Measure at 12 months of age) and covariates of cell-type proportion, maternal financial difficulties and marital status at 8 months postnatal, child birthweight, and sex. RESULTS CpG site cg27122725 methylation was negatively associated with warmer, more positive maternal interaction with her infant (β = 0.19, p = .02, q = 0.13). In sensitivity analyses, the second highest quartile of maternal behavior (neutral, hesitant behavior) was positively associated with cg12466613 methylation. The other five CpG sites were not significantly associated with maternal-infant interaction quality. CONCLUSIONS Narrow individual variation of maternal interaction with her infant is associated with childhood methylation of two CpG sites on NR3C1 that may be particularly sensitive to environmental influences. Infancy may be a sensitive period for even small influences from the social-emotional environment on the epigenetic determinants of HPA-axis function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Holdsworth
- Department of AnthropologyWashington State UniversityPullmanWashingtonUSA
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity at Albany State University of New YorkAlbanyNew YorkUSA
| | - Lawrence M. Schell
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity at Albany State University of New YorkAlbanyNew YorkUSA
- Department of Epidemiology & BiostatisticsUniversity at Albany State University of New YorkRensselaerNew YorkUSA
| | - Allison A. Appleton
- Department of Epidemiology & BiostatisticsUniversity at Albany State University of New YorkRensselaerNew YorkUSA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Chbeir S, Carrión V. Resilience by design: How nature, nurture, environment, and microbiome mitigate stress and allostatic load. World J Psychiatry 2023; 13:144-159. [PMID: 37303926 PMCID: PMC10251360 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i5.144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Resilience to psychological stress is defined as adaption to challenging life experiences and not the absence of adverse life events. Determinants of resilience include personality traits, genetic/epigenetic modifications of genes involved in the stress response, cognitive and behavioral flexibility, secure attachment with a caregiver, social and community support systems, nutrition and exercise, and alignment of circadian rhythm to the natural light/dark cycle. Therefore, resilience is a dynamic and flexible process that continually evolves by the intersection of different domains in human’s life; biological, social, and psychological. The objective of this minireview is to summarize the existing knowledge about the multitude factors and molecular alterations that result from resilience to stress response. Given the multiple contributing factors in building resilience, we set out a goal to identify which factors were most supportive of a causal role by the current literature. We focused on resilience-related molecular alterations resulting from mind-body homeostasis in connection with psychosocial and environmental factors. We conclude that there is no one causal factor that differentiates a resilient person from a vulnerable one. Instead, building resilience requires an intricate network of positive experiences and a healthy lifestyle that contribute to a balanced mind-body connection. Therefore, a holistic approach must be adopted in future research on stress response to address the multiple elements that promote resilience and prevent illnesses and psychopathology related to stress allostatic load.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Souhad Chbeir
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Victor Carrión
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Becerra CY, Wells RK, Kunihiro BP, Lee RH, Umeda L, Allan NP, Rubas NC, McCracken TA, Nunokawa CKL, Lee MH, Pidlaoan FGS, Phankitnirondorn K, Dye CK, Yamamoto BY, Peres R, Juarez R, Maunakea AK. Examining the immunoepigenetic-gut microbiome axis in the context of self-esteem among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. Front Genet 2023; 14:1125217. [PMID: 37152987 PMCID: PMC10154580 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1125217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHPI) populations experience higher rates of immunometabolic diseases compared to other racial-ethnic groups in Hawaii. As annual NHPI mortality rates for suicide and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) exceed those of the state as a whole, understanding the social and biological mechanisms underlying these disparities are urgently needed to enable preventive strategies. Methods: A community-based approach was used to investigate the immunoepigenetic-gut microbiome axis in an NHPI-enriched cohort of Oahu residents (N = 68). Self-esteem (SE) data was collected using a modified Rosenberg self-esteem (SE) assessment as a proxy measure for mental wellbeing in consideration for cultural competency. T2DM status was evaluated using point-of-care A1c (%) tests. Stool samples were collected for 16s-based metagenomic sequencing analyses. Plasma from blood samples were isolated by density-gradient centrifugation. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from the same samples and enriched for monocytes using negative selection techniques. Flow-cytometry was used for immunoprofiling assays. Monocyte DNA was extracted for Illumina EPIC array-based methylation analysis. Results: Compared to individuals with normal SE (NSE), those with low SE (LSE) exhibited significantly higher plasma concentrations (pg/ml) of proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 (p = 0.051) and TNF-α (p = 0.011). Metagenomic analysis revealed that the relative abundance (%) of specific gut bacteria significantly differed between SE groups - some of which directly correlated with SE scores. Gene ontology analysis revealed that 104 significantly differentially methylated loci (DML) between SE groups were preferentially located at genes involved in immunometabolic processes. Horvath clock analyses indicated epigenetic age (Epi-Age) deceleration in individuals with LSE and acceleration in individuals with NSE (p = 0.042), yet was not reproduced by other clocks. Discussion: These data reveal novel differences in the immunoepigenetic-gut microbiome axis with respect to SE, warranting further investigation into its relationship to brain activity and mental health in NHPI. Unexpected results from Epi-Age analyses warrant further investigation into the relationship between biological age and disparate health outcomes among the NHPI population. The modifiable component of epigenetic processes and the gut microbiome makes this axis an attractive target for potential therapeutics, biomarker discovery, and novel prevention strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Celyna Y Becerra
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
- IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Riley K Wells
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Braden P Kunihiro
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
- IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Rosa H Lee
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Lesley Umeda
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Nina P Allan
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Noelle C Rubas
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Trevor A McCracken
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Chandler K L Nunokawa
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Ming-Hao Lee
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Felix Gerard S Pidlaoan
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Krit Phankitnirondorn
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Christian K Dye
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NY, NY, United States
| | - Brennan Y Yamamoto
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Rafael Peres
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Ruben Juarez
- Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
- University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO), University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Alika K Maunakea
- Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, United States
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Mendonça MS, Mangiavacchi PM, Mendes AV, Loureiro SR, Martín-Santos R, Glória LS, Marques W, De Marco SPG, Kanashiro MM, Hallak JEC, Crippa JAS, Rios ÁFL. DNA methylation in regulatory elements of the FKBP5 and NR3C1 gene in mother-child binomials with depression. J Affect Disord 2023; 331:287-299. [PMID: 36933666 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The FKBP5 and NR3C1 genes play an important role in stress response, thus impacting mental health. Stress factor exposure in early life, such as maternal depression, may contribute to epigenetic modifications in stress response genes, increasing the susceptibility to different psychopathologies. The present study aimed to evaluate the DNA methylation profile in maternal-infant depression in regulatory regions of the FKBP5 gene and the alternative promoter of the NR3C1 gene. METHODS We evaluated 60 mother-infant pairs. The levels of DNA methylation were analyzed by the MSRED-qPCR technique. RESULTS We observed an increased DNA methylation profile in the NR3C1 gene promoter in children with depression and children exposed to maternal depression (p < 0.05). In addition, we observed a correlation of DNA methylation between mothers and offspring exposed to maternal depression. This correlation shows a possible intergenerational effect of maternal MDD exposure on the offspring. For FKBP5, we found a decrease in DNA methylation at intron 7 in children exposed to maternal MDD during pregnancy and a correlation of DNA methylation between mothers and children exposed to maternal MDD (p < 0.05). LIMITATIONS Although the individuals of this study are a rare group, the sample size of the study was small, and we evaluated the DNA methylation of only one CpG site for each region. CONCLUSION These results indicate changes in DNA methylation levels in regulatory regions of FKBP5 and NR3C1 in the mother-child MDD context and represent a potential target of studies to understand the depression etiology and how it occurs between generations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana S Mendonça
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro 28013-602, Brazil
| | - Paula M Mangiavacchi
- Laboratory of Reproduction and Animal Breeding, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro 28013-602, Brazil
| | - Ana V Mendes
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14051-140, Brazil
| | - Sonia R Loureiro
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14051-140, Brazil
| | - Rocio Martín-Santos
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clínic, Institut d' Investigacions Biomedicas August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Neurociencias, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Spain
| | - Leonardo S Glória
- Laboratory of Animal Science, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro 28013-602, Brazil
| | - Wilson Marques
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14051-140, Brazil
| | - Silmara P G De Marco
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14051-140, Brazil
| | - Milton M Kanashiro
- Laboratory of Recognition Biology, North Fluminense State University (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro 28013-602, Brazil
| | - Jaime E C Hallak
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14051-140, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José A S Crippa
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, USP, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14051-140, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Álvaro F L Rios
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro 28013-602, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Plieger T, Lepper J, Klein A, Reuter M. Effects of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) and subjective birth experience on the risk of postpartum depression and maternal bonding. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 148:105995. [PMID: 36463751 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious health care issue that affects a substantial share of women giving birth. PPD is considered a severe stress response that is likely associated with impaired HPA-axis activity. However, genetic findings regarding HPA-axis effects on PPD are scarce and inconsistent. Inconsistencies may be due to the neglect of environmental (stressful) events such as perinatal trauma or averse subjective birth experiences associated with PPD. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate whether the NR3C1 gene and subjective birth experience interact on PPD and postpartum bonding to the child. N = 277 mothers provided gene samples and self-report data on PPD and postpartum bonding. We genotyped 11 polymorphisms on the NR3C1 gene (including the prominent BCL1) and conducted haplotype analyses. A negative subjective birth experience was associated with both PPD and maternal postpartum bonding. Our results further show a significant main effect of NR3C1 haplotype (F1, 275 = 6.42, p = .012, η2 =.023) and a haplotype x birth experience interaction (F1, 274 = 4.57, p = .033, η2 =.016) on PPD. We did not find any NR3C1 haplotype effects on bonding. Our results support the assumption that the glucocorticoid receptor coding NR3C1 gene is involved in the development of PPD. These gene effects become particularly important in presence of a negative environmental event such as the subjective birth experience. This finding allows more targeted preventions in terms of being particularly sensitive to potentially harming environmental influences that may present even stronger risk factors for genetically vulnerable women.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Judith Lepper
- University of Bonn, Department of Psychology, Germany
| | - Angela Klein
- University Hospital Bonn, Department of Gynecologic Psychosomatics, Germany
| | - Martin Reuter
- University of Bonn, Department of Psychology, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Micale V, Di Bartolomeo M, Di Martino S, Stark T, Dell'Osso B, Drago F, D'Addario C. Are the epigenetic changes predictive of therapeutic efficacy for psychiatric disorders? A translational approach towards novel drug targets. Pharmacol Ther 2023; 241:108279. [PMID: 36103902 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The etiopathogenesis of mental disorders is not fully understood and accumulating evidence support that clinical symptomatology cannot be assigned to a single gene mutation, but it involves several genetic factors. More specifically, a tight association between genes and environmental risk factors, which could be mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, may play a role in the development of mental disorders. Several data suggest that epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, post-translational histone modification and interference of microRNA (miRNA) or long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) may modify the severity of the disease and the outcome of the therapy. Indeed, the study of these mechanisms may help to identify patients particularly vulnerable to mental disorders and may have potential utility as biomarkers to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. This article summarizes the most relevant preclinical and human data showing how epigenetic modifications can be central to the therapeutic efficacy of antidepressant and/or antipsychotic agents, as possible predictor of drugs response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Micale
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
| | - Martina Di Bartolomeo
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy
| | - Serena Di Martino
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Tibor Stark
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Scientific Core Unit Neuroimaging, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Bernardo Dell'Osso
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences 'Luigi Sacco', University of Milan, Milan, Italy, Department of Mental Health, ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, Milan, Italy; "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan Medical School, Milan, Italy; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, CA, USA
| | - Filippo Drago
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
| | - Claudio D'Addario
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Azar N, Booij L. DNA methylation as a mediator in the association between prenatal maternal stress and child mental health outcomes: Current state of knowledge. J Affect Disord 2022; 319:142-163. [PMID: 36113690 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal maternal stress is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for offspring mental health challenges. DNA methylation may be a mechanism, but few studies directly tested mediation. These few integrative studies are reviewed along with studies from three research areas: prenatal maternal stress and child mental health, prenatal maternal stress and child DNA methylation, and child mental health and DNA methylation. METHODS We conducted a narrative review of articles in each research area and the few published integrative studies to evaluate the state of knowledge. RESULTS Prenatal maternal stress was related to greater offspring internalizing and externalizing symptoms and to greater offspring peripheral DNA methylation of the NR3C1 gene. Youth mental health problems were also related to NR3C1 hypermethylation while epigenome-wide studies identified genes involved in nervous system development. Integrative studies focused on infant outcomes and did not detect significant mediation by DNA methylation though methodological considerations may partially explain these null results. LIMITATIONS Operationalization of prenatal maternal stress and child mental health varied greatly. The few published integrative studies did not report conclusive evidence of mediation by DNA methylation. CONCLUSIONS DNA methylation likely mediates the association between prenatal maternal stress and child mental health. This conclusion still needs to be tested in a larger number of integrative studies. Key empirical and statistical considerations for future research are discussed. Understanding the consequences of prenatal maternal stress and its pathways of influence will help prevention and intervention efforts and ultimately promote well-being for both mothers and children.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Azar
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada; Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, 3175 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Linda Booij
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada; Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, 3175 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, Université de Montréal, P.O. Box 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Begum N, Mandhare A, Tryphena KP, Srivastava S, Shaikh MF, Singh SB, Khatri DK. Epigenetics in depression and gut-brain axis: A molecular crosstalk. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:1048333. [PMID: 36583185 PMCID: PMC9794020 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1048333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Gut-brain axis is a dynamic, complex, and bidirectional communication network between the gut and brain. Changes in the microbiota-gut-brain axis are responsible for developing various metabolic, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders. According to clinical and preclinical findings, the gut microbiota is a significant regulator of the gut-brain axis. In addition to interacting with intestinal cells and the enteric nervous system, it has been discovered that microbes in the gut can modify the central nervous system through metabolic and neuroendocrine pathways. The metabolites of the gut microbiome can modulate a number of diseases by inducing epigenetic alteration through DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA-associated gene silencing. Short-chain fatty acids, especially butyrate, are well-known histone deacetylases inhibitors. Similarly, other microbial metabolites such as folate, choline, and trimethylamine-N-oxide also regulate epigenetics mechanisms. Furthermore, various studies have revealed the potential role of microbiome dysbiosis and epigenetics in the pathophysiology of depression. Hence, in this review, we have highlighted the role of gut dysbiosis in epigenetic regulation, causal interaction between host epigenetic modification and the gut microbiome in depression and suggest microbiome and epigenome as a possible target for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nusrat Begum
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Aniket Mandhare
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Kamatham Pushpa Tryphena
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Saurabh Srivastava
- Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India,*Correspondence: Saurabh Srivastava,
| | - Mohd Farooq Shaikh
- Neuropharmacology Research Strength, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia,Mohd Farooq Shaikh,
| | - Shashi Bala Singh
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Dharmendra Kumar Khatri
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, Telangana, India,Dharmendra Kumar Khatri,
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Gentle as a mother's touch: C-tactile touch promotes autonomic regulation in preterm infants. Physiol Behav 2022; 257:113991. [PMID: 36242858 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Preterm infants are challenged to adapt to an extrauterine milieu, while their interoceptive system and autonomic regulation capacity is still immature. Caressing parental touch is known to foster parasympathetic regulation in infants by stimulating C-tactile (CT) afferents and in preterm infants, slow stroking stimulation also leads to a heart rate decrease. The particular impact of maternal stroking has not yet been investigated and factors influencing the maturation of the CT system in preterm infants remain unclear. We therefore analysed 53 standardized events in which preterm infants (24 to 36 weeks gestational age at birth) were stroked by their mothers. Video analysis revealed that mothers use CT optimal velocities to stroke their preterm child. Analysis of pulse oximetric data showed no effect of stroking on infantile blood oxygenation, but a significant decrease of the heart rate. Compared to term-born children, this decrease was delayed by about two minutes. Furthermore, our data suggested that more immature preterm infants benefited less from stroking than more mature ones. We conclude that maternal stroking touch targets CT afferents in preterm infants and that the preterm CT system is not yet mature.
Collapse
|
15
|
Sarkisova K, van Luijtelaar G. The impact of early-life environment on absence epilepsy and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. IBRO Neurosci Rep 2022; 13:436-468. [PMID: 36386598 PMCID: PMC9649966 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2022.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
This review discusses the long-term effects of early-life environment on epileptogenesis, epilepsy, and neuropsychiatric comorbidities with an emphasis on the absence epilepsy. The WAG/Rij rat strain is a well-validated genetic model of absence epilepsy with mild depression-like (dysthymia) comorbidity. Although pathologic phenotype in WAG/Rij rats is genetically determined, convincing evidence presented in this review suggests that the absence epilepsy and depression-like comorbidity in WAG/Rij rats may be governed by early-life events, such as prenatal drug exposure, early-life stress, neonatal maternal separation, neonatal handling, maternal care, environmental enrichment, neonatal sensory impairments, neonatal tactile stimulation, and maternal diet. The data, as presented here, indicate that some early environmental events can promote and accelerate the development of absence seizures and their neuropsychiatric comorbidities, while others may exert anti-epileptogenic and disease-modifying effects. The early environment can lead to phenotypic alterations in offspring due to epigenetic modifications of gene expression, which may have maladaptive consequences or represent a therapeutic value. Targeting DNA methylation with a maternal methyl-enriched diet during the perinatal period appears to be a new preventive epigenetic anti-absence therapy. A number of caveats related to the maternal methyl-enriched diet and prospects for future research are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karine Sarkisova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Butlerova str. 5a, Moscow 117485, Russia
| | - Gilles van Luijtelaar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Donders Center for Cognition, Radboud University, Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
López-Morales H, Gelpi Trudo R, del-Valle MV, Canet-Juric L, Biota M, Andrés ML, Urquijo S. The Pandemial babies: effects of maternal stress on temperament of babies gestated and born during the pandemic. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022:1-13. [PMID: 36437907 PMCID: PMC9676865 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03976-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic may configure an adverse prenatal context for early development. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of pandemic-related negative experiences, prenatal anxiety and depression on the temperament of six-month-old babies. The sample consisted of 105 mother-child dyads. A longitudinal evaluation was carried out using pre- and postnatal online surveys. Mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory - II, the Pandemic Impact Questionnaire and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Revised. Serial mediation models were tested, in which the pandemic-related negative experiences constituted the independent variable, the prenatal anxiety and depression were the mediators, and the children's temperament dimensions were the dependent variables. Pandemic-related negative experiences were indirectly associated with the offspring's negative affect and surgency through anxious symptomatology, which acted as a mediating variable. This was the first study to identify the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on temperament. Such an adverse context implies risks for child development. Public health policies aiming to evaluate socioemotional variables during early childhood become necessary to allow on-time interventions for lessening these risks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hernán López-Morales
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada Y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela Superior de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Rosario Gelpi Trudo
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada Y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Macarena Verónica del-Valle
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada Y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lorena Canet-Juric
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada Y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Magdalena Biota
- Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias Y Sistemas Complejos (CONICET - Hospital El Cruce - Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Laura Andrés
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada Y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sebastián Urquijo
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada Y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Mohammadi S, Beh-Pajooh A, Ahmadimanesh M, Amini M, Ghazi-Khansari M, Moallem SA, Hosseini R, Nourian YH, Ghahremani MH. Evaluation of DNA methylation in BDNF, SLC6A4, NR3C1 and FKBP5 before and after treatment with selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor in major depressive disorder. Epigenomics 2022; 14:1269-1280. [DOI: 10.2217/epi-2022-0246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim: To identify the DNA methylation status of related genes in major depressive disorder following selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor treatment. Materials & methods: 45 patients with major depressive disorder and 45 healthy volunteers were considered experimental and control groups, respectively. High-resolution melting real-time PCR was implemented to evaluate DNA methylation. Results: After 100 days of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor treatment, methylation of promoter CpG sites of BDNF, NR3C1, FKBP5 and SLC6A4 was significantly reduced. Compared with before treatment, patients' Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were significantly reduced after selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor treatment (p ≤ 0.0001). Conclusion: Based on the proven effect of antidepressants on DNA methylation and gene expression, these medications can improve the treatment process and reduce depression scores after treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Saeid Mohammadi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abbas Beh-Pajooh
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahnaz Ahmadimanesh
- Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mohsen Amini
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahmoud Ghazi-Khansari
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Adel Moallem
- Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Al-Zahraa University for Women, Karbala, Iraq
| | - Rohollah Hosseini
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Yazdan Hasani Nourian
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hossein Ghahremani
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Toxicology and Poisoning Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Shim IH, Yi JM, Ha SH, Kwon KA, Bae DS, Bae DS. Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene ( NR3C1) Expression in the Pathogenesis of Depression in Cancer. ALPHA PSYCHIATRY 2022; 23:294-297. [PMID: 36628383 PMCID: PMC9797698 DOI: 10.5152/alphapsychiatry.2022.22944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Background This study aimed to compare the NR3C1 expression among cancer patients with major depressive disorder (cancer depression), cancer patients without major depressive disorder (cancer non-depression), and major depressive disorder patients without cancer (general depression), as a preliminary investigation of epigenetic changes in the glucocorticoid receptor gene. Methods From May 2019 to November 2019, patients were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry, Cancer Center in Busan, Korea. For gene expression studies, primers were designed using the Primer3 web tool (http://frodo.wi.mit.edu/primer3), and amplification reactions were performed. Results Expression levels of NR3C1 were lower in cancer depression and general depression than in cancer non-depression group. Given that we observed downregulation of the NR3C1 gene expression in depressive patients regardless of cancer status, it appears that methylation changes in NR3C1 may contribute to the pathophysiology of depression. Conclusion The results of this study imply that the expression of NR3C1 may be decreased in major depressive disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- In Hee Shim
- Department of Psychiatry, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Republic of Korea,Corresponding author:In Hee Shim✉
| | - Joo Mi Yi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Su Hong Ha
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung A Kwon
- Division of Hematology-Oncology of Internal medicine, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Sik Bae
- Department of Surgery, Inje University College of Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
Jackson EE, McGlone FP, Haggarty CJ. The social brain has a nerve: insights from attachment and autistic phenotypes. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
20
|
Xin N, Wang DT, Zhang L, Zhou Y, Cheng Y. Early developmental stage glucocorticoid exposure causes DNA methylation and behavioral defects in adult zebrafish. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 2022; 256:109301. [PMID: 35182718 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2022.109301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder caused by genetic and environmental factors. It is closely related to a dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, in which the epigenetic modification of the nr3c1 plays an important role. It is well known that nr3c1 methylation in offspring is reportedly related to early adverse life experiences, prenatal stress response, and early nursing conditions; however, the methylation location and extent of the nr3c1 are not sufficiently elucidated. In order to study the internal mechanism of PTSD caused by early adverse life experience, we used zebrafish to construct a psychopathological model. We found that early developmental stage prednisolone exposure caused HPA axis negative feedback dysfunction and hormone secretion disorder in adult male zebrafish. By analyzing nr3c1 promoter, we found that cytosine-guanine island (CpGI) 2 was highly methylated in adult male zebrafish, which affected the expression of glucocorticoid receptor, resulting in abnormal behavior and anxiety like phenotype of adult male zebrafish. Therefore, we believed that an early exposure of zebrafish larvae to prednisolone may be recorded through a change of CpGI 2 methylation in the nr3c1 promoter region, causing abnormal adult male zebrafish behavior. Moreover, the establishment of the zebrafish psychopathological model may facilitate the study of the clinical management of patients with PTSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ning Xin
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221000, China
| | - Da-Tong Wang
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221000, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Department of Geriatrics, Jinan Laigang Hospital, No.68 Xinxing Road, Jinan, Shandong 271100, China
| | - Yanlong Zhou
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221000, China
| | - Yanbo Cheng
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221000, China.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Manu DM, Mwinyi J, Schiöth HB. Challenges in Analyzing Functional Epigenetic Data in Perspective of Adolescent Psychiatric Health. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23105856. [PMID: 35628666 PMCID: PMC9147258 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The formative period of adolescence plays a crucial role in the development of skills and abilities for adulthood. Adolescents who are affected by mental health conditions are at risk of suicide and social and academic impairments. Gene–environment complementary contributions to the molecular mechanisms involved in psychiatric disorders have emphasized the need to analyze epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation (DNAm) and non-coding RNAs. However, the large and diverse bioinformatic and statistical methods, referring to the confounders of the statistical models, application of multiple-testing adjustment methods, questions regarding the correlation of DNAm across tissues, and sex-dependent differences in results, have raised challenges regarding the interpretation of the results. Based on the example of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and depressive disorder (MDD), we shed light on the current knowledge and usage of methodological tools in analyzing epigenetics. Statistical robustness is an essential prerequisite for a better understanding and interpretation of epigenetic modifications and helps to find novel targets for personalized therapeutics in psychiatric diseases.
Collapse
|
22
|
Schirmer A, McGlone F. Editorial overview: Affective touch: neurobiology and function. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
23
|
Hodsoll J, Pickles A, Bozicevic L, Supraja TA, Hill J, Chandra PS, Sharp H. A Comparison of Non-verbal Maternal Care of Male and Female Infants in India and the United Kingdom: The Parent-Infant Caregiving Touch Scale in Two Cultures. Front Psychol 2022; 13:852618. [PMID: 35401353 PMCID: PMC8984138 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.852618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in infant caregiving behavior between cultures have long been noted, although the quantified comparison of touch-based caregiving using uniform standardized methodology has been much more limited. The Parent-Infant Caregiving Touch scale (PICTS) was developed for this purpose and programming effects of early parental tactile stimulation (stroking) on infant hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning (stress-response system), cardiovascular regulation and behavioral outcomes, similar to that reported in animals, have now been demonstrated. In order to inform future studies examining such programming effects in India, we first aimed to describe and examine, using parametric and non-parametric item-response methods, the item-response frequencies and characteristics of responses on the PICTS, and evidence for cross-cultural differential item functioning (DIF) in the United Kingdom (UK) and India. Second, in the context of a cultural favoring of male children in India, we also aimed to test the association between the sex of the infant and infant "stroking" in both cultural settings. The PICTS was administered at 8-12 weeks postpartum to mothers in two-cohort studies: The Wirral Child Health and Development Study, United Kingdom (n = 874) and the Bangalore Child Health and Development Study, India (n = 395). Mokken scale analysis, parametric item-response analysis, and structural equation modeling for categorical items were used. Items for two dimensions, one for stroking behavior and one for holding behavior, could be identified as meeting many of the criteria required for Mokken scales in the United Kingdom, only the stroking scale met these criteria in the sample from India. Thus, while a comparison between the two cultures was possible for the stroking construct, comparisons for the other non-verbal parenting constructs within PICTS were not. Analyses revealed higher rates of early stroking being reported for the United Kingdom than India, but no sex differences in rates in either country and no differential sex difference by culture. We conclude that PICTS items can be used reliably in both countries to conduct further research on the role of early tactile stimulation in shaping important child development outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John Hodsoll
- Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Pickles
- Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Bozicevic
- Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jonathan Hill
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Prabha S. Chandra
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
| | - Helen Sharp
- Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
McParlin Z, Cerritelli F, Friston KJ, Esteves JE. Therapeutic Alliance as Active Inference: The Role of Therapeutic Touch and Synchrony. Front Psychol 2022; 13:783694. [PMID: 35250723 PMCID: PMC8892201 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.783694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recognizing and aligning individuals' unique adaptive beliefs or "priors" through cooperative communication is critical to establishing a therapeutic relationship and alliance. Using active inference, we present an empirical integrative account of the biobehavioral mechanisms that underwrite therapeutic relationships. A significant mode of establishing cooperative alliances-and potential synchrony relationships-is through ostensive cues generated by repetitive coupling during dynamic touch. Established models speak to the unique role of affectionate touch in developing communication, interpersonal interactions, and a wide variety of therapeutic benefits for patients of all ages; both neurophysiologically and behaviorally. The purpose of this article is to argue for the importance of therapeutic touch in establishing a therapeutic alliance and, ultimately, synchrony between practitioner and patient. We briefly overview the importance and role of therapeutic alliance in prosocial and clinical interactions. We then discuss how cooperative communication and mental state alignment-in intentional communication-are accomplished using active inference. We argue that alignment through active inference facilitates synchrony and communication. The ensuing account is extended to include the role of (C-) tactile afferents in realizing the beneficial effect of therapeutic synchrony. We conclude by proposing a method for synchronizing the effects of touch using the concept of active inference.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zoe McParlin
- Foundation COME Collaboration, Clinical-Based Human Research Department, Pescara, Italy
| | - Francesco Cerritelli
- Foundation COME Collaboration, Clinical-Based Human Research Department, Pescara, Italy
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jorge E. Esteves
- Foundation COME Collaboration, Clinical-Based Human Research Department, Pescara, Italy
- Malta ICOM Educational Ltd., Gzira, Malta
- Research Department, University College of Osteopathy, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Mariani Wigley ILC, Mascheroni E, Bonichini S, Montirosso R. Epigenetic protection: maternal touch and DNA-methylation in early life. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
|
26
|
Van Puyvelde M, Mairesse O. Do C-tactile afferents go to sleep? A potential role for somatosensory stimulation in sleep regulation. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
|
27
|
Mariani Wigley ILC, Mascheroni E, Fontana C, Giorda R, Morandi F, Bonichini S, McGlone F, Fumagalli M, Montirosso R. The role of maternal touch in the association between SLC6A4 methylation and stress response in very preterm infants. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63 Suppl 1:e22218. [PMID: 34964498 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Very preterm (VPT) infants requiring hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are exposed to several stressful procedural experiences. One consequence of NICU-related stress is a birth-to-discharge increased serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) methylation that has been associated with poorer stress regulation at 3 months of age. Maternal touch is thought to support infants' stress response, but its role in moderating the effects of SLC6A4 methylation changes is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the role of maternal touch in moderating the association between increased SLC6A4 methylation and stress response in 3-month-old VPT infants. Twenty-nine dyads were enrolled and at 3 months (age corrected for prematurity), participated in the Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm to measure infants' stress response (i.e., negative emotionality) and the amount of maternal touch (i.e., dynamic and static). Results showed that low level of maternal touch is associated with high level of negative emotionality during social stress. Furthermore, during NICU stay SLC6A4 methylation in VPT exposed to low level of maternal touch at 3 months was associated with increased negative emotionality. Thus, low levels of maternal static touch can intensify the negative effects of SLC6A4 epigenetic changes on stress response in 3-month-old VPT infants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Eleonora Mascheroni
- 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS "Eugenio Medea", Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Camilla Fontana
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, NICU, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Giorda
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Scientific Institute IRCCS "Eugenio Medea", Lecco, Italy
| | | | - Sabrina Bonichini
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Francis McGlone
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.,Institute of Psychology Health & Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Monica Fumagalli
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, NICU, Milan, Italy.,Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Rosario Montirosso
- 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS "Eugenio Medea", Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Müller-Oerlinghausen B, Eggart M, Norholt H, Gerlach M, Kiebgis GM, Arnold MM, Moberg KU. [Touch Medicine - a complementary therapeutic approach exemplified by the treatment of depression]. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2021; 147:e32-e40. [PMID: 34921360 PMCID: PMC8841210 DOI: 10.1055/a-1687-2445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Haut-zu-Haut-Berührung stellt die ursprünglichste Sinneserfahrung von Mensch und Tier dar. Ein Mangel an Berührung in der Kindheit ist mit negativen Folgen für die psychosoziale und körperliche Gesundheit verbunden. Für die Entdeckung von Rezeptoren für Temperatur und Berührung im Körper wurde 2021 der Medizin-Nobelpreis verliehen. Klinische Studien belegen den Nutzen von professionellen Berührungstechniken zur Prävention und Therapie verschiedener Erkrankungen. Der breiten Anwendung einer professionellen Berührungstherapie gilt jedoch bis heute nur ein geringes klinisches Interesse. Wir schlagen eine neue Fachdisziplin der „Berührungsmedizin“ vor und spannen nachstehend einen Bogen zwischen den Erkenntnissen moderner Berührungsforschung und der klinischen Medizin. Exemplarisch steht dabei die Behandlung der primär als Leibkrankheit konzipierten Depression im Vordergrund. Kontrollierte Studien und systematische Übersichten belegen die antidepressive, anxiolytische sowie analgetische Wirksamkeit spezieller Massagetechniken in dieser Indikation. Auch für die Neonatologie, Pädiatrie, Schmerzmedizin, Onkologie und Geriatrie konnte die Wirksamkeit heilsamer Berührung gezeigt werden. Die jeweiligen Wirkmechanismen werden auf verschiedenen Konstrukt-Ebenen diskutiert. Im Vordergrund des internationalen Forschungsinteresses stehen derzeit das Interozeptionskonzept, zum anderen endokrinologische, z. B. oxytocinerge Effekte und die Aktivierung sog. CT-Afferenzen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland.,Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Deutschland
| | - Michael Eggart
- Hochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten, University of Applied Sciences, Fakultät Soziale Arbeit, Gesundheit und Pflege, Weingarten, Deutschland
| | - Henrik Norholt
- SomAffect - The Somatosensory & Affective Neuroscience Group, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Gerlach
- Dr.-Reisach-Kliniken für Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie, Hochgratklinik GmbH & Co. KG, Oberstaufen, Deutschland
| | | | | | - Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg
- Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skara, Schweden
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Sikes-Keilp C, Rubinow DR. In search of sex-related mediators of affective illness. Biol Sex Differ 2021; 12:55. [PMID: 34663459 PMCID: PMC8524875 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-021-00400-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in the rates of affective disorders have been recognized for decades. Studies of physiologic sex-related differences in animals and humans, however, have generally yielded little in terms of explaining these differences. Furthermore, the significance of these findings is difficult to interpret given the dynamic, integrative, and highly context-dependent nature of human physiology. In this article, we provide an overview of the current literature on sex differences as they relate to mood disorders, organizing existing findings into five levels at which sex differences conceivably influence physiology relevant to affective states. These levels include the following: brain structure, network connectivity, signal transduction, transcription/translation, and epigenesis. We then evaluate the importance and limitations of this body of work, as well as offer perspectives on the future of research into sex differences. In creating this overview, we attempt to bring perspective to a body of research that is complex, poorly synthesized, and far from complete, as well as provide a theoretical framework for thinking about the role that sex differences ultimately play in affective regulation. Despite the overall gaps regarding both the underlying pathogenesis of affective illness and the role of sex-related factors in the development of affective disorders, it is evident that sex should be considered as an important contributor to alterations in neural function giving rise to susceptibility to and expression of depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - David R Rubinow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Epigenetic Modifications Associated with Maternal Anxiety during Pregnancy and Children's Behavioral Measures. Cells 2021; 10:cells10092421. [PMID: 34572069 PMCID: PMC8469633 DOI: 10.3390/cells10092421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic changes are associated with altered behavior and neuropsychiatric disorders and they modify the trajectory of aging. Maternal anxiety during pregnancy is a common environmental challenge for the fetus, causing changes in DNA methylation. Here, we determined the mediating role of DNA methylation and the moderating role of offspring sex on the association between maternal anxiety and children's behavioral measures. In 83 mother-child dyads, maternal anxiety was assessed in each trimester of pregnancy when the child was four years of age. Children's behavioral measures and children's buccal DNA methylation levels (NR3C1, IGF2/H19 ICR, and LINE1) were examined. Higher maternal anxiety during the third trimester was associated with more methylation levels of the NR3C1. Moderating effects of sex on the association between maternal anxiety and methylation were found for IGF2/H19 and LINE1 CpGs. Mediation analysis showed that methylation of NR3C1 could buffer the effects of maternal anxiety on children's behavioral measures, but this effect did not remain significant after controlling for covariates. In conclusion, our data support an association between maternal anxiety during pregnancy and DNA methylation. The results also underscore the importance of sex differences and timing effects. However, DNA methylation as underlying mechanism of the effect of maternal anxiety during pregnancy on offspring's behavioral measures was not supported.
Collapse
|
31
|
Shirvani-Farsani Z, Maloum Z, Bagheri-Hosseinabadi Z, Vilor-Tejedor N, Sadeghi I. DNA methylation signature as a biomarker of major neuropsychiatric disorders. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 141:34-49. [PMID: 34171761 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation is a broadly-investigated epigenetic modification that has been considered as a heritable and reversible change. Previous findings have indicated that DNA methylation regulates gene expression in the central nervous system (CNS). Also, disturbance of DNA methylation patterns has been associated with destructive consequences that lead to human brain diseases such as neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs). In this review, we comprehensively discuss the mechanism and function of DNA methylation and its most recent associations with the pathology of NPDs-including major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia (SZ), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BD), and attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We also discuss how heterogeneous findings demand further investigations. Finally, based on the recent studies we conclude that DNA methylation status may have implications in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics as a potential epigenetic biomarker of NPDs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zeinab Shirvani-Farsani
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University G.C., Tehran, IR, Iran.
| | - Zahra Maloum
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University G.C., Tehran, IR, Iran.
| | - Zahra Bagheri-Hosseinabadi
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
| | - Natalia Vilor-Tejedor
- BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Carrer Wellington 30, 08005, Barcelona, Spain; Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Clinical Genetics, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Iman Sadeghi
- BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Carrer Wellington 30, 08005, Barcelona, Spain; Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Garner A, Yogman M. Preventing Childhood Toxic Stress: Partnering With Families and Communities to Promote Relational Health. Pediatrics 2021; 148:peds.2021-052582. [PMID: 34312296 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2021-052582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
By focusing on the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships (SSNRs) that buffer adversity and build resilience, pediatric care is on the cusp of a paradigm shift that could reprioritize clinical activities, rewrite research agendas, and realign our collective advocacy. Driving this transformation are advances in developmental sciences as they inform a deeper understanding of how early life experiences, both nurturing and adverse, are biologically embedded and influence outcomes in health, education, and economic stability across the life span. This revised policy statement on childhood toxic stress acknowledges a spectrum of potential adversities and reaffirms the benefits of an ecobiodevelopmental model for understanding the childhood origins of adult-manifested disease and wellness. It also endorses a paradigm shift toward relational health because SSNRs not only buffer childhood adversity when it occurs but also promote the capacities needed to be resilient in the future. To translate this relational health framework into clinical practice, generative research, and public policy, the entire pediatric community needs to adopt a public health approach that builds relational health by partnering with families and communities. This public health approach to relational health needs to be integrated both vertically (by including primary, secondary, and tertiary preventions) and horizontally (by including public service sectors beyond health care). The American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that SSNRs are biological necessities for all children because they mitigate childhood toxic stress responses and proactively build resilience by fostering the adaptive skills needed to cope with future adversity in a healthy manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Garner
- Partners in Pediatrics, Westlake, Ohio.,School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Dean DC, Madrid A, Planalp EM, Moody JF, Papale LA, Knobel KM, Wood EK, McAdams RM, Coe CL, Hill Goldsmith H, Davidson RJ, Alisch RS, Kling PJ. Cord blood DNA methylation modifications in infants are associated with white matter microstructure in the context of prenatal maternal depression and anxiety. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12181. [PMID: 34108589 PMCID: PMC8190282 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91642-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal and environmental factors influence brain networks and architecture via both physiological pathways and epigenetic modifications. In particular, prenatal maternal depression and anxiety symptoms appear to impact infant white matter (WM) microstructure, leading us to investigate whether epigenetic modifications (i.e., DNA methylation) contribute to these WM differences. To determine if infants of women with depression and anxiety symptoms exhibit epigenetic modifications linked to neurodevelopmental changes, 52 umbilical cord bloods (CBs) were profiled. We observed 219 differentially methylated genomic positions (DMPs; FDR p < 0.05) in CB that were associated with magnetic resonance imaging measures of WM microstructure at 1 month of age and in regions previously described to be related to maternal depression and anxiety symptoms. Genomic characterization of these associated DMPs revealed 143 unique genes with significant relationships to processes involved in neurodevelopment, GTPase activity, or the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Separate regression models for female (n = 24) and male (n = 28) infants found 142 associated DMPs in females and 116 associated DMPs in males (nominal p value < 0.001, R > 0.5), which were annotated to 98 and 81 genes, respectively. Together, these findings suggest that umbilical CB DNA methylation levels at birth are associated with 1-month WM microstructure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Douglas C Dean
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA.,Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Waisman Center, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Andy Madrid
- Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Elizabeth M Planalp
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Psychology, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason F Moody
- Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ligia A Papale
- Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Karla M Knobel
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Elizabeth K Wood
- Harlow Center for Biological Psychology, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ryan M McAdams
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA
| | - Christopher L Coe
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Psychology, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Harlow Center for Biological Psychology, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - H Hill Goldsmith
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Psychology, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Richard J Davidson
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Psychology, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Center for Healthy Minds, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Reid S Alisch
- Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Pamela J Kling
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Norholt H. Delivering Clinically on Our Knowledge of Oxytocin and Sensory Stimulation: The Potential of Infant Carrying in Primary Prevention. Front Psychol 2021; 11:590051. [PMID: 33995157 PMCID: PMC8116555 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) is one of the most intensively researched neuropeptides during the three past decades. In benign social contexts, OT exerts a range of desirable socioemotional, stress-reducing, and immunoregulatory effects in mammals and humans and influences mammalian parenting. Consequentially, research in potential pharmacological applications of OT toward human social deficits/disorders and physical illness has increased substantially. Regrettably, the results from the administration of exogenous OT are still relatively inconclusive. Research in rodent maternal developmental programming has demonstrated the susceptibility of offspring endogenous OT systems to maternal somatosensory stimulation, with consequences for behavioral, epigenetic, cognitive, and neurological outcomes. A translation of this animal research into practically feasible human parenting recommendations has yet to happen, despite the significant prevention potential implied by the maternal developmental programming research. Extended physical contact with full-term healthy infants in the months following birth (infant carrying) might constitute the human equivalent of those specific rodent maternal behaviors, found to positively influence emerging OT systems. Findings from both OT and maternal programming research parallel those found for infants exposed to such extended parental physical contact, whether through skin-to-skin contact or infant carrying. Clinical support of parents to engage in extended physical contact represents a feasible intervention to create optimum conditions for the development of infant OT systems, with potential beneficial long-term health effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Norholt
- SomAffect - The Somatosensory & Affective Neuroscience Group, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
de Assis Pinheiro J, Freitas FV, Borçoi AR, Mendes SO, Conti CL, Arpini JK, Dos Santos Vieira T, de Souza RA, Dos Santos DP, Barbosa WM, Archanjo AB, de Oliveira MM, Dos Santos JG, Sorroche BP, Casali-da-Rocha JC, Trivilin LO, Borloti EB, Louro ID, Arantes LMRB, Alvares-da-Silva AM. Alcohol consumption, depression, overweight and cortisol levels as determining factors for NR3C1 gene methylation. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6768. [PMID: 33762648 PMCID: PMC7990967 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86189-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The NR3C1 glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene is a component of the stress response system, which can be regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. NR3C1 methylation has been associated with trauma and mental issues, including depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and personality disorders. Previous studies have reported that stressful events are involved in NR3C1 gene methylation, suggesting that its regulation under environmental effects is complex. The present study aimed to analyze associations involving stressors such as socioeconomic status, health conditions, and lifestyle in relation to NR3C1 methylation in adults. This study included 386 individual users of the Brazilian Public Unified Health System (SUS), and evaluated socioeconomic and health conditions, body mass index, cortisol levels, and lifestyle. Data were correlated with NR3C1 methylation, determined using DNA pyrosequencing. The results showed that alcohol consumption, overweight, and high cortisol levels were related to NR3C1 demethylation, while depression was related to its methylation. Habits, lifestyle, and health status may influence NR3C1 gene regulation via methylation, revealing the complexity of environmental impacts on NR3C1 methylation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Júlia de Assis Pinheiro
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | - Flávia Vitorino Freitas
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil.,Department of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Aline Ribeiro Borçoi
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | - Suzanny Oliveira Mendes
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | - Catarine Lima Conti
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | - Juliana Krüger Arpini
- Graduate Program in Forest Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Tamires Dos Santos Vieira
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | | | | | - Wagner Miranda Barbosa
- Department of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Anderson Barros Archanjo
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | - Mayara Mota de Oliveira
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | | | - Bruna Pereira Sorroche
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Hospital do Câncer de Barretos, Barretos, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Elizeu Batista Borloti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | - Iuri Drumond Louro
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil
| | | | - Adriana Madeira Alvares-da-Silva
- Biotechnology/Renorbio Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil. .,Department of Morphology, Health Science Center, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil. .,Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Alto Universitário Sem Número, Alegre, ES, 29500000, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Berretta E, Guida E, Forni D, Provenzi L. Glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) methylation during the first thousand days: Environmental exposures and developmental outcomes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:493-502. [PMID: 33689802 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The first 1000 days from conception are a sensitive period for human development programming. During this period, environmental exposures may result in long-lasting epigenetic imprints that contribute to future developmental trajectories. The present review reports on the effects of adverse and protective environmental conditions occurring during the first 1000 days on glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) regulation in humans. Thirty-four studies were included. Wide variations emerged for biological tissues, number and position of analyzed CpG sites, and age at methylation and outcomes assessment. Increased NR3C1 methylation associated with first 1000 days stress exposures. Maternal caregiving behaviors significantly buffered precocious stress exposures. A less robust pattern of findings emerged for the association of NR3C1 methylation with physical health, neurobehavioral and neuroendocrine outcomes. Although drawing comprehensive conclusions is partially hindered by methodological limitations, the present review underlines the relevance of the first 1000 days from conception as a time window for developmental plasticity. Prospective cohort studies and epigenome-wide approaches may increase our understanding of dynamics epigenetic changes and their consequences for child development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erica Berretta
- Experimental and Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab, Scientific Institute IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | - Elena Guida
- 0-3 Center for the At-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Diego Forni
- Bioinformatics, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Livio Provenzi
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Biopsychosocial correlates of psychological distress in Latina mothers. J Affect Disord 2021; 282:617-626. [PMID: 33445084 PMCID: PMC7889736 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Few studies have explored the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and biological factors among Latinas. An integrated understanding of how these factors associate with psychological distress is necessary for the development of culturally relevant screening tools and interventions. The study aim was to examine the relationships among (a) psychological distress symptoms, (b) psychosocial factors (discrimination, acculturation, acculturative stress, economic hardship), and (c) biological (DNA methylation of stress-related genes) factors among Latinas during pregnancy and postpartum period. METHODS A sample of 150 pregnant Latinas completed the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms II (IDAS-II), psychosocial questionnaires (discrimination, acculturation, acculturative stress, economic hardship) before (24-32 weeks) and after gestation (4-6 weeks postpartum). Blood samples were collected between 24-32 weeks gestation. Correlations were determined between psychosocial and biological measures and psychological distress measures. Multivariable linear regression models were conducted to assess the relationships between IDAS and stressors. RESULTS Several correlations among psychosocial measures,DNA methylation factors and IDAS-II variables were identified. Among the psychosocial measures, everyday discrimination was the most strongly and consistently associated with IDAS-II. DNA methylation of NR3C1 affects the associations between psychological and psychosocial distress. LIMITATIONS We only assessed DNA methylation during pregnancy and focused on four HPA-related genes. Longitudinal assessment of DNA methylation and genome-wide analysis can provide a better picture of the role of methylation in psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS This work may assist clinicians and policy makers in effectively recognizing and preventing maternal mental health disparities based on discrimination and other psychosocial stressors in at-risk groups.
Collapse
|
38
|
Letourneau N, Ntanda H, Jong VL, Mahinpey N, Giesbrecht G, Ross KM. Prenatal maternal distress and immune cell epigenetic profiles at 3-months of age. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:973-984. [PMID: 33569773 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal maternal distress predicts altered offspring immune outcomes, potentially via altered epigenetics. The role of different kinds of prenatal maternal distress on DNA methylation profiles is not understood. METHODS A sample of 117 women (APrON cohort) were followed from pregnancy to the postpartum period. Maternal distress (depressive symptoms, pregnancy-specific anxiety, stressful life events) were assessed mid-pregnancy, late-pregnancy, and 3-months postpartum. DNA methylation profiles were obtained from 3-month-old blood samples. Principal component analysis identified two epigenetic components, characterized as Immune Signaling and DNA Transcription through gene network analysis. Covariates were maternal demographics, pre-pregnancy body mass index, child sex, birth gestational age, and postpartum maternal distress. Penalized regression (LASSO) models were used. RESULTS Late-pregnancy stressful life events, b = 0.006, early-pregnancy depressive symptoms, b = 0.027, late-pregnancy depressive symptoms, b = 0.014, and pregnancy-specific anxiety during late pregnancy, b = -0.631, were predictive of the Immune Signaling component, suggesting that these aspects of maternal distress could affect methylation in offspring immune signaling pathways. Only early-pregnancy depressive symptoms was predictive of the DNA Transcription component, b = -0.0004, suggesting that this aspect of maternal distress is implicated in methylation of offspring DNA transcription pathways. CONCLUSIONS Exposure timing and kind of prenatal maternal distress could matter in the prediction of infant immune epigenetic profiles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Victor L Jong
- University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Burleson MH, Quigley KS. Social interoception and social allostasis through touch: Legacy of the Somatovisceral Afference Model of Emotion. Soc Neurosci 2021; 16:92-102. [PMID: 31810428 PMCID: PMC7299836 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1702095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
John Cacioppo and colleagues' Somatovisceral Afference Model of Emotion (SAME) highlighted the importance of interoception in emotional experience. Here we compare how the SAME and the more recent theory of constructed emotion (TCE) view the role of interoceptive signals in creating emotional experiences. We describe the characteristics of touch sensations that are carried by thin, unmyelinated fibers called C-tactile afferents (CTs) to the posterior insula, and are thus deemed interoceptive despite their typically social (external) origin. We explore how this social interoceptive input might contribute to the emotion-related effects of social touch more generally, and speculate that all social touch, with or without CT afferent stimulation, can directly influence allostasis, or the predictive regulation of short- and long-term energy resources required by the body. Finally, we describe several features of CT-optimal touch that make it a potentially useful tool to help illuminate basic interoceptive mechanisms, emotion-related phenomena, and disorders involving atypical affect or somatosensation. These proposed ideas demonstrate the long intellectual reach of John Cacioppo and Gary Berntson's highly productive scientific collaboration, which was formative for the fields of social neuroscience, social psychophysiology, and affective neuroscience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mary H Burleson
- School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University , Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Karen S Quigley
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) and Social and Community Reintegration Research (SoCRR) Program, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA , Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University , Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
López-Morales H, Del Valle MV, Canet-Juric L, Andrés ML, Galli JI, Poó F, Urquijo S. Mental health of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study. Psychiatry Res 2021; 295:113567. [PMID: 33213933 PMCID: PMC7657008 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Several studies have reported the susceptibility of pregnant women to emotional instability and stress. Thus, pregnancy may be a risk factor that could deepen the already negative effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze longitudinally the psychopathological consequences of the pandemic in pregnant women, and to explore differences with non-pregnant women. The participants in this study were 102 pregnant women, and a control group of 102 non-pregnant women (most of them reported having university studies and little financial impact from the pandemic). They completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, in three different times (2, 14, and 47 days after the start of the lockdown). In a time range of 50 days of quarantine, all women showed a gradual increase in psychopathological indicators and a decrease in positive affect. Pregnant women showed a more pronounced increase in depression, anxiety and negative affect than the non-pregnant women did. In addition, pregnant women showed a more pronounced decrease in positive affect. It is important for institutions dedicated to perinatal health care to count on empirical information to optimize the provision of their services.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hernán López-Morales
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina.
| | - Macarena Verónica Del Valle
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Lorena Canet-Juric
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - María Laura Andrés
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Juan Ignacio Galli
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Fernando Poó
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Sebastián Urquijo
- Instituto de Psicología Básica Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Mar del Plata, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor promoter in children: Links with parents as teachers, early life stress, and behavior problems. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 34:810-822. [DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The present study examined the effect of early life stress (ELS) on the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) methylation, the associations between NR3C1 methylation and behavior problems, and the effect of the program Parents as Teachers (PAT) on NR3C1 methylation. Participants included 132 children, 72 assigned to the PAT intervention group and 60 to the PAT control group. Children were aged 3 years, and were living in psychosocially at-risk families. We assessed NR3C1 methylation of the NGFI-A binding regions of exon 1F via sodium bisulfite sequencing from saliva DNA. Results indicated that (a) children living in families receiving PAT had decreased methylation at one single cytosine–guanine dinucleotides (CpG) site; (b) current maternal depressive symptoms and parental disagreement were predictive of increased methylation of mean NGFI-A and three single CpG sites; and (c) increased methylation of mean NGFI-A and one single CpG site was significantly associated with increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In addition, mean NGFI-A was a mediator of the association between parental disagreement and a child's affective problems. These results suggest that PAT may contribute to preventing NR3C1 methylation in preschool children living in psychosocially at-risk situations, and confirm previous findings on the associations between ELS, NR3C1 methylation, and behavior problems.
Collapse
|
42
|
Hucklenbruch-Rother E, Vohlen C, Mehdiani N, Keller T, Roth B, Kribs A, Mehler K. Delivery room skin-to-skin contact in preterm infants affects long-term expression of stress response genes. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 122:104883. [PMID: 33027708 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Premature birth is a traumatic event that puts mother and child at risk for subsequent psychopathology. Skin-to-skin contact in the form of intermittent kangaroo mother care has been shown to positively affect the infant's stress response and cognitive development, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Moreover, first skin-to-skin contact is usually delayed for days after birth. In the delivery room skin-to-skin study (DR-SSC), a prospective randomized controlled trial conducted from 2/2012 to 7/2015, we set out to assess the effect of delivery room skin-to-skin contact on the infant's mRNA expression of six key molecules involved in stress response and neurobehavioral development at hospital discharge. 88 firstborn, singleton preterm infants (born at 25-32 weeks of gestational age) were included. In the delivery room after initial stabilization, infants were randomized to either 60 min of skin-to-skin or 5 min of visual contact with their mother. In this explorative add-on study on the original DR-SSC study, we determined the expression of six important stress response genes (CRHR1 and CRHR2, AVP, NR3C1, HTR2A, and SLC6A4) in peripheral white blood cells of infants during routine blood sampling upon hospital discharge (corrected gestational age of 40 weeks). Infants were followed up to six months corrected age. Relative mRNA expression of the corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 2 (CRH R2), the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1), and the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) was significantly reduced in the delivery room SSC infants. Additionally, gene expression of CRH R2 showed a correlation with HPA axis reactivity and parameters of mother-child interaction at six months corrected age. Our results highlight the importance of delivery room mother-child skin-to-skin contact and underline the urgent need for in-depth studies on the underlying molecular mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Hucklenbruch-Rother
- Metabolism and Perinatal Programming, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Christina Vohlen
- Metabolism and Perinatal Programming, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nava Mehdiani
- Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Titus Keller
- Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Bernhard Roth
- Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Angela Kribs
- Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Katrin Mehler
- Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Braithwaite EC, Pickles A, Wright N, Sharp H, Hill J. Sex differences in foetal origins of child emotional symptoms: a test of evolutionary hypotheses in a large, general population cohort. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2020; 61:1194-1202. [PMID: 32196666 PMCID: PMC8641379 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Based on previous findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study (WCHADS), and on evolutionary hypotheses, we preregistered analyses of data from a large epidemiological sample (https://osf.io/fn5g9/register/564d31db8c5e4a7c9694b2be), to test for sex-dependent moderation by prenatal maternal depressive symptoms of the association between postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and child emotional problems. METHODS A total of 8,354 mothers and children were followed from pregnancy to 3.5 years in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Self-report measures of prenatal and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms, and maternal report of child emotional symptoms were administered. RESULTS There was a three-way interaction between maternal prenatal and postnatal depression, and child sex (Coeff .042 95% CI 0.015 to 0.068, p = .002). This arose from moderation by prenatal depression, in opposite directions in boys and in girls. In boys, the association between postnatal depression and child emotional symptoms was weaker following lower prenatal depressive symptoms (interaction term coeff = .030, p = .001), and in girls, to a lesser extent, the association was stronger following lower prenatal depressive symptoms (interaction term coeff = -.012, p = .221). CONCLUSIONS We replicated the finding from the WCHADS that prenatal depression modifies the association between postnatal depression and children's emotional problems in a sex-dependent fashion. In ALSPAC, the sex difference was explained mainly by a protective effect of low prenatal depression in boys, while in WCHADS, it arose from greater vulnerability of girls to postnatal depression following low prenatal depression. In the light of these findings, in evaluating and implementing early interventions, there is need to consider that risks associated with postnatal depression may vary depending on maternal mood during pregnancy and may differ between boys and girls.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C. Braithwaite
- Department of PsychologyFaculty of Health, Psychology and Social CareManchester Metropolitan UniversityManchesterUK
| | - Andrew Pickles
- Department of Biostatistics and Health InformaticsInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Nicola Wright
- Department of Biostatistics and Health InformaticsInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Helen Sharp
- Department of Psychological SciencesFaculty of Health and Life SciencesUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | - Jonathan Hill
- School for Psychology and Clinical Language SciencesUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Ushakova VM, Morozova AY, Reznik AM, Kostyuk GP, Chekhonin VP. Molecular Biological Aspects of Depressive Disorders: A Modern View. Mol Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893320050118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
|
45
|
Prenatal stress and epigenetics. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 117:198-210. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Revised: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
|
46
|
Dong E, Pandey SC. Prenatal stress induced chromatin remodeling and risk of psychopathology in adulthood. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2020; 156:185-215. [PMID: 33461663 PMCID: PMC7864549 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
New insights into the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders suggest the existence of a complex interplay between genetics and environment. This notion is supported by evidence suggesting that exposure to stress during pregnancy exerts profound effects on the neurodevelopment and behavior of the offspring and predisposes them to psychiatric disorders later in life. Accumulated evidence suggests that vulnerability to psychiatric disorders may result from permanent negative effects of long-term changes in synaptic plasticity due to altered epigenetic mechanisms (histone modifications and DNA methylation) that lead to condensed chromatin architecture, thereby decreasing the expression of candidate genes during early brain development. In this chapter, we have summarized the literature of clinical studies on psychiatric disorders induced by maternal stress during pregnancy. We also discussed the epigenetic alterations of gene regulations induced by prenatal stress. Because the clinical manifestations of psychiatric disorders are complex, it is obvious that the biological progression of these diseases cannot be studied only in postmortem brains of patients and the use of animal models is required. Therefore, in this chapter, we have introduced a well-established mouse model of prenatal stress (PRS) generated in restrained pregnant dams. The behavioral phenotypes of the offspring (PRS mice) born to the stressed dam and underlying epigenetic changes in key molecules related to synaptic activity were described and highlighted. PRS mice may serve as a useful model for investigating the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders and may be a useful tool for screening for the potential compounds that may normalize aberrant epigenetic mechanisms induced by prenatal stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erbo Dong
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Subhash C Pandey
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Xu Q, Jiang M, Gu S, Wang F, Yuan B. Early Life Stress Induced DNA Methylation of Monoamine Oxidases Leads to Depressive-Like Behavior. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:582247. [PMID: 33015076 PMCID: PMC7505948 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.582247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is coming to be the regarded as one of the leading causes for human disabilities. Due to its complicated pathological process, the etiology is still unclear and the treatment is still targeting at the monoamine neurotransmitters. Early life stress has been known as a major cause for MDD, but how early life stress affects adult monoaminergic activity is not clear either. Recently, DNA methylation is considered to be the key mechanism of epigenetics and might play a role in early life stress induced mental illness. DNA methylation is an enzymatic covalent modification of DNA, has been one of the main epigenetic mechanisms investigated. The metabolic enzyme for the monoamine neurotransmitters, monoamine oxidases A/B (MAO A/MAO B) are the prime candidates for the investigation into the role of DNA methylation in mental disorders. In this review, we will review recent advances about the structure and physiological function of monoamine oxidases (MAO), brief narrative other factors include stress induced changes, early life stress, perinatal depression (PD) relationship with other epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, microRNA (miRNA). This review will shed light on the epigenetic changes involved in MDD, which may provide potential targets for future therapeutics in depression pathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiuyue Xu
- School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Mingchen Jiang
- School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Simeng Gu
- Department of Psychology, Jiangsu University Medical School, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Fushun Wang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bin Yuan
- School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Montirosso R, Rosa E, Giorda R, Fazzi E, Orcesi S, Cavallini A, Provenzi L. Early Parenting Intervention - Biobehavioral Outcomes in infants with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (EPI-BOND): study protocol for an Italian multicentre randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 2020; 10:e035249. [PMID: 32699128 PMCID: PMC7375429 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neurodevelopmental disability (ND) represents an adverse condition for infants' socio-emotional and behavioural development as well as for caregiving (eg, parental sensitivity) and mother-infant interaction. Adverse exposures are associated with altered neuroendocrine hormones concentrations (eg, oxytocin and cortisol) and epigenetic regulation (eg, methylation of stress-related genes), which in turn may contribute to less-than-optimal mother-infant interaction. Parental sensitivity is a protective factor for childrens' development and early parental interventions (eg, video-feedback intervention) can promote parental caregiving and better developmental outcomes in children. The present multi-centric and longitudinal randomised controlled trial aims to assess if and to which extent early VFI could benefit both infants and mothers in terms of behavioural outcomes as well as neuroendocrine and epigenetic regulation. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Dyads will be randomly assigned to the video-feedback Intervention Group or Control Group ('dummy' intervention: telephone calls). Infants with ND aged 3 to 18 months will be recruited from three major child neuropsychiatric units in northern Italy. A multi-layer approach to intervention effects will include videotapes of mother-infant interaction, maternal reports as well as saliva samples for hormones concentrations and target-gene methylation analysis (eg, BDNF, NR3C1, OXTR and SCL6A4) that will be obtained at each of the four assessment sessions: T0, baseline; T1, post-intervention; T2, short-term follow-up (3 month); T3, long-term follow-up (6 month). Primary effectiveness measures will be infant socio-emotional behaviour and maternal sensitivity. Neuroendocrine hormones concentrations and DNA methylation status of target genes will be secondary outcomes. Feasibility, moderation and confounding variables will be measured and controlled between the two groups. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethics approval has been obtained in all three participating units. Results of the main trial and each of the secondary endpoints will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT03853564; Pre-results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Montirosso
- 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Elisa Rosa
- 0-3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Roberto Giorda
- Biology Lab, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Elisa Fazzi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
- Unit of Child and Adolescence Neuropsychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy
| | - Simona Orcesi
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Anna Cavallini
- Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Livio Provenzi
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Revisiting the roots of attachment: A review of the biological and psychological effects of maternal skin-to-skin contact and carrying of full-term infants. Infant Behav Dev 2020; 60:101441. [PMID: 32603951 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
During the early period of hypothesis building and empirical testing of attachment theory, a major emphasis was placed on mother-infant physical contact. In spite of this, mother-infant contact has received scant attention amongst attachment and child development researchers in the past decades. Here, a brief theoretical framework for mother-infant contact is presented, drawing on animal studies as well as human studies of preterm infants and neonates. Salient mechanisms may include an extended sensitive period during early infancy, requiring specific somatosensory stimuli for bio-behavioral homeorhesis; oxytocinergic and epigenetic pathways; kinesthetic stimuli and face-to-face proximity allowing for increased social interaction. Studies of extended human mother-full-term infant physical contact have demonstrated positive effects in multiple domains. For infants, these include sleep organization, temperature and heart rate regulation, behavioral response, crying/colic, socio-emotional development, attachment quality, speech development opportunities and mother-child interactions. For mothers, studies demonstrate improved depressive symptomatology, physiological stress regulation, contingent responsivity, breastfeeding and mother-child interactions. Parent-infant attachment quality has gained prominence as a trauma-resilience factor as well as a predictor of adult physical health. The potential role of mother-infant contact as an attachment promoting intervention as well as future research subjects are discussed. Current evidence supports the original attachment research that early maternal touch provision may influence infant socio-emotional development and attachment quality, with positive implications for mother-child relationship functioning.
Collapse
|
50
|
Provenzi L, Fumagalli M, Scotto di Minico G, Giorda R, Morandi F, Sirgiovanni I, Schiavolin P, Mosca F, Borgatti R, Montirosso R. Pain-related increase in serotonin transporter gene methylation associates with emotional regulation in 4.5-year-old preterm-born children. Acta Paediatr 2020; 109:1166-1174. [PMID: 31670854 DOI: 10.1111/apa.15077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
AIM The main goal of this study was to assess the association between pain-related increase in serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) methylation and emotional dysregulation in 4.5-year-old preterm children compared with full-term matched counterparts. METHODS Preterm (n = 29) and full-term (n = 26) children recruited from two Italian hospitals were followed-up from October 2011 to December 2017. SLC6A4 methylation was assessed from cord blood at birth from both groups and peripheral blood at discharge for preterm ones. At 4.5 years, emotional regulation (ie, anger, fear and sadness) was assessed through an observational standardised procedure. RESULTS Preterm children (18 females; mean age = 4.5, range = 4.3-4.8) showed greater anger display compared with full-term controls (14 females; mean age = 4.5, range = 4.4-4.9) in response to emotional stress. Controlling for adverse life events occurrence from discharge to 4.5 years and SLC6A4 methylation at birth, CpG-specific SLC6A4 methylation in the neonatal period was predictive of greater anger display in preterm children but not in full-term ones. CONCLUSION These findings contribute to highlight how epigenetic regulation of serotonin transporter gene in response to NICU pain exposure contributes to long-lasting programming of anger regulation in preterm children.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Livio Provenzi
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea Bosisio Parini Lecco Italy
| | - Monica Fumagalli
- Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health University of Milan Milan Italy
| | | | - Roberto Giorda
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E. MedeaMolecular Biology Lab Bosisio Parini Lecco Italy
| | | | - Ida Sirgiovanni
- Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
| | - Paola Schiavolin
- Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
| | - Fabio Mosca
- Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Renato Borgatti
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E. MedeaNeuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit Bosisio Parini Lecco Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|