Article summary of DNA Methylation, Behavior and Early Life Adversity by Szyf - Chapter


Preface

DNA methylation is an epigenetic process in which a methyl group is added to a histone within the DNA molecule. This changes the structure of the DNA, creating tissue-specific DNA methylation patterns. DNA methylation plays a crucial role in determining tissue-specific patterns of gene expression.

DNA methylation in the face of dynamic environments

The fact that DNA methylation plays an important role in the specification of specific cell type programs, implies that DNA methylation is preserved during the lifetime of the tissue. Because of this, it is assumed that DNA methylation patterns are highly resistant to physical tissue. Data have shown that DNA methylation could be involved in providing specific DNA exposure and that these DNA methylation differences are associated with stable phenotypes. This idea is of particular importance for mental health care and behavioral biology. Here, gene-environment interactions have been recorded and the impact of the external social environment on the behavior and development of the brain has been extensively determined.

Working hypothesis: DNA methylation is a potential genomic mechanism for adapting sustainable genome analysis programs of the social environment.

An important part of human and animal development are external environmental signals (stimuli from the environment). In particular, the development of: mental functions, behavior, immunity, inflammation and healthy metabolism. As a result, it is stated that DNA methylation has its share in the form of genome function in response to signals from the environment. Especially the early years of life are important. Social and physical environmental signals in these early years will have an impact on the rest of one's life. So, growing up in an unfavorable environment leads to worse immunity, mental responses and heart responses. These responses in turn change DNA methylation in various physiological systems such as the brain and the peripheral systems.

The effect of maternal care

Maternal care plays a crucial role for the future well-being of her offspring. In this study, it was studied whether natural variations in maternal care just after birth lead to differences in DNA methylation that may lead to observed phenotypic differences between the offspring in adult life. These adult offspring experienced either High Licking (HL) and High Grooming (HG) maternal care or Low licking (LL) and Low Grooming (LG) maternal care. The offspring that received LL maternal care showed an increased level of glucocorticoid in their stress response. It has been shown that variations in maternal care lead to differences in epigenetic programming. These differences remain visible in adulthood. It was also examined whether the change in DNA methylation was reversible, but this was not the case. Early stress in mice causes persistent DNA hypomethylation in an important regulatory region of the arginine vasopressin gene, which plays a role in aggression, blood pressure regulation and body temperature.

Summary

This article suggests that DNA methylation is a mechanism that is dependent on external experiences and changes gene function and phenotype in a stable way. These reactions are visible throughout the system and not just in the brain, since social distress has important physical consequences. Because it can affect the entire system, DNA methylation has important practical consequences.

Access: 
Public
Work for WorldSupporter

Image

JoHo can really use your help!  Check out the various student jobs here that match your studies, improve your competencies, strengthen your CV and contribute to a more tolerant world

Working for JoHo as a student in Leyden

Parttime werken voor JoHo

Image

Click & Go to more related summaries or chapters:

Summaries per article with of Psychological and Neurobiological Consequences of Child Abuse at Leiden University 21/22

Summaries per article with of Psychological and Neurobiological Consequences of Child Abuse at Leiden University 21/22

Supporting content: 
Access: 
Public

Kindermishandeling & Jeugdzorg: samenvattingen van de beste wetenschappelijke artikelen

Of je nu meer wil weten over de forensisch-medische aspecten van kindermishandeling, of benieuwd bent naar hoe desinformatie in het geheugen geplant kan worden - bij de top 40 van samenvattingen van de wetenschappelijke artikelen over kindermishandeling wordt kindermishandeling en jeugdzorg vanuit een breed spectrum bestudeerd en behandeld.

Kindermishandeling & Jeugdzorg: een selectie van ongeveer 40 samenvattingen van de beste wetenschappelijke artikelen (alfabetische volgorde), gebaseerd op diverse vakken rond dit thema zoals aangeboden aan de Universiteiten van Leiden, Utrecht en Groningen voor de studies Pedagogiek en Psychologie.

De opgesomde titels zijn in de meeste gevallen vrije vertalingen van de originele Engelstalige titels:

  • Begrijpen van de adolescentie als een periode van sociale en affectieve betrokkenheid en flexibiliteit wat betreft doelen - Crone, Dahl
  • Behandeling voor chronische depressie met een schema therapie - Renner et al
  • Bijwerkingen van jeugdervaringen in het leven van vrouwelijke zedendelinquenten - Levenson
  • Consequenties van kindermishandeling in landen met hoge inkomens - Gilbert et al
  • De cumulatieve effecten van de risico- en beschermende factoren van moeders op storend gedrag van hun dochters - van der Molen et al
  • De ontwikkeling van de communicatieve en narratieve vaardigheden bij peuters en kleuters: lessen van forensische interviews over kindermishandeling - Hershkowitz
  • DNA-methylatie, Gedrag en tegenspoed in Early Life - Szyf
  • Einstein op de bank? Gebrek aan wetenschappelijk bewijs om rechtszaken van kindermishandeling te kunnen beoordelen - Moreno
  • Emotiemodulatie bij PTSD: klinisch en neurobiologisch bewijs voor een dissociatief subtype - Lanius et al
  • Forensisch-medische aspecten van kindermishandeling - Kemp
  • Genetische gevoeligheid voor het milieu - Caspi et al
  • Geriatrische forensische evaluees: een studie - Lewis et al
  • Gezondheidseffecten van kindermishandeling - Kendall-Tackett
  • Het geheugen van kinderen als ooggetuigen: de invloed van cognitieve en sociaal-emotionele factoren - Goodman et al
  • Het probleem met kinderartsen - Williams
  • Het seksueel welzijn van vrouwen die seksueel misbruik hebben ervaren - Lemieux et al
  • Jeugd stress heeft aanhoudende effecten op het functioneren van de amygdala en de ontwikkeling van muizen en mensen - Cohen et al
  • Jeugdige en volwassen zedendelinquenten - Hendriks, Bijleveld
  • Kindermishandeling en DSM-VI mentale stoornissen van volwassenen - Scott et al
  • Kindermishandeling voorspelt een ongunstig depressiebeloop en ongunstige behandeluitkomsten bij depressieve mensen: een meta-analyse - Nanni et al
  • Meta-analyse van psychologische behandelingen voor PTSS bij volwassenslachtoffers van kindermishandeling - Ehring et al
  • Neurobiologische en psychiatrische consequenties van kindermishandeling en verwaarlozing - Heim et al
  • Neurologische kijk op kindermishandeling: een kritische review - Hart, Rubia
  • Onthullingen van seksueel misbruik van kinderen - London et al
  • Onvoorspelbaarheid van vroege ervaringen op mentale stoornissen - Baram et al
  • Openbaarmaking van seksueel misbruik bij kinderen: een model - Goodman-Brown et al
  • Overtreding onder ouderen - Curtice et al
  • Scheidingservaringen in de kindertijd voorspellen hormonale respons van de HPA as in late volwassenheid - Pesonen et al
  • Seksueel misbruik bij kinderen en zwangerschap tijdens de adolescentie - Noll et al
  • Seksueel misbruik bij kinderen, een case study - Leander et al
  • Seksuele problemen en PTSS na seksueel trauma: Een meta-analyse - O'Driscoll et al
  • Telomeren en tegenspoed:
.......read more
Supporting content: 
Access: 
Public
Comments, Compliments & Kudos:

Add new contribution

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
Check how to use summaries on WorldSupporter.org


Online access to all summaries, study notes en practice exams

Using and finding summaries, study notes en practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter

There are several ways to navigate the large amount of summaries, study notes en practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter.

  1. Starting Pages: for some fields of study and some university curricula editors have created (start) magazines where customised selections of summaries are put together to smoothen navigation. When you have found a magazine of your likings, add that page to your favorites so you can easily go to that starting point directly from your profile during future visits. Below you will find some start magazines per field of study
  2. Use the menu above every page to go to one of the main starting pages
  3. Tags & Taxonomy: gives you insight in the amount of summaries that are tagged by authors on specific subjects. This type of navigation can help find summaries that you could have missed when just using the search tools. Tags are organised per field of study and per study institution. Note: not all content is tagged thoroughly, so when this approach doesn't give the results you were looking for, please check the search tool as back up
  4. Follow authors or (study) organizations: by following individual users, authors and your study organizations you are likely to discover more relevant study materials.
  5. Search tool : 'quick & dirty'- not very elegant but the fastest way to find a specific summary of a book or study assistance with a specific course or subject. The search tool is also available at the bottom of most pages

Do you want to share your summaries with JoHo WorldSupporter and its visitors?

Quicklinks to fields of study (main tags and taxonomy terms)

Field of study

Access level of this page
  • Public
  • WorldSupporters only
  • JoHo members
  • Private
Statistics
664