epigenetics and intergenerational trauma

Intergenerational transmission childhood adversity developmental programming epigenetic mechanisms fetoplacental interaction offspring of trauma survivors post-traumatic stress disorder trauma. Elucidating the role of epigenetic mechanisms in intergenerational effects through prospective, multi-generational studies may ultimately yield a cogent understanding of how individual, cultural and societal experiences permeate our biology. On the other hand, there may be no psychopathology (in most cases) or even sometimes post-traumatic growth and resilience. Given the paucity of human studies and the methodological challenges in conducting such studies, it is not possible to attribute intergenerational effects in humans to a single set of biological or other determinants at this time. Psychological trauma is unique in that it is an environmental event that could induce biological changes and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression or other mood disorders in some patients. The most compelling work to date has been done in animal models, where the opportunity for controlled designs enables clear interpretations of transmissible effects. Several factors, such as sex-specific epigenetic effects following trauma exposure and parental developmental stage at the time of exposure, explain different effects of maternal and paternal trauma. The second includes epigenetic changes associated with a preconception trauma in parents that may affect the germline, and impact fetoplacental interactions. These can result from the influence of the offspring's early environmental exposures, including postnatal maternal care as well as in utero exposure reflecting maternal stress during pregnancy. Those changes manifest as chronic disease, lower.

The first involves developmentally programmed effects. Trauma can cause activation and deactivation of genes and other changes. Two broad categories of epigenetically mediated effects are highlighted. The Academy of Pediatrics reports that the way genes work in our bodies determines. This paper reviews the research evidence concerning the intergenerational transmission of trauma effects and the possible role of epigenetic mechanisms in this transmission. The science of epigenetics, literally above the gene, proposes that we pass along more than DNA in our genes it suggests that our genes can carry memories of trauma experienced by our ancestors and can influence how we react to trauma and stress.

Epigenetics and intergenerational trauma