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Early life adversity affects broad regions of brain DNA
Study provides strong evidence of a biological process that embeds social experience in DNA that affects not just a few genes but entire networks of genes.
Published: 10 October 2012
The research was published in a special volume of听Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:听Biological Embedding of Early Social Adversity:听 From Fruit Flies to Kindergartners, and confirms a biological process that embeds social experience in DNA in the brain and that affects not just a few genes but entire networks of genes. 鈥淥ur data highlights the immense importance of the social environment during childhood and illustrates the profound consequences of child adversity on the way our DNA is programmed,鈥� says Szyf, a fellow of the听Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).听听听
Szyf and his coauthors听examined differences in the way DNA is marked by methylation in the听hippocampal听region of the brain听of humans who experienced abuse as children and non-abused controls, using samples from听The Douglas 鈥� Bell Canada Brain Bank听directed by Prof. Gustavo Turecki of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. The human samples were compared to rats who received different maternal care early in life. Remarkably, DNA methylation changes that were associated with differences in early life experiences were detected in many similar genes in both species.
Although it has been known that early life experiences, particularly social experiences, have long-term impacts on future physical and mental health well-being, it was difficult to understand how these adversities were 鈥渆mbedded鈥� biologically. While previous McGill studies had shown that a few candidate genes could be 鈥渆pigenetically鈥� marked by early life experiences, it was clear that early life experience had a profound impact on health that couldn鈥檛 be explained by these few genes.
鈥淭his study provides strong evidence of a biological process that embeds social experience in DNA in the brain that affects not just a few genes but entire networks of genes,鈥� says Szyf. 鈥淲e highlighted the immense importance of the social environment during childhood and illustrated the profound consequences of child adversity on the way our DNA is programmed.听 Because of our new findings, we now have a broader understanding of how to prevent and treat mental and physical health challenges鈥�.
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鈥�Conserved epigenetic sensitivity to early life experience in the rat and human hippocampus鈥� is published in a special volume of the听Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:听Biological Embedding of Early Social Adversity:听 From Fruit Flies to Kindergartners,听authored largely by researchers of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). This volume sets out an emerging new field of the developmental science of childhood adversity.听
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