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  • Title: Childhood maltreatment and stress-related psychopathology: the epigenetic memory hypothesis.
    Author: Lutz PE, Almeida D, Fiori LM, Turecki G.
    Journal: Curr Pharm Des; 2015; 21(11):1413-7. PubMed ID: 25564388.
    Abstract:
    Childhood maltreatment (CM) is all too frequent among western societies, with an estimated prevalence of 10 to 15%. CM associates with increased risk of several psychiatric disorders, and therefore represents a worrying public and socioeconomic burden. While associated clinical outcomes are well characterized, determining by which mechanisms early-life adverse experiences affect mental health over the lifespan is a major challenge. Epigenetic mechanisms, in particular DNA methylation, represent a form of molecular memory that may modify brain function over extended periods of time, as well as serve as a bio-marker of behavioral phenotypes associated with CM. Here, we review human studies suggesting that DNA methylation is a crucial substrate mediating neurobiological consequences of CM throughout life, thereby potentiating maladaptive behavioral patterns and psychopathological risk.
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