title: The transgenerational transmission of childhood adversity: behavioral, cellular, and epigenetic correlates.
abstract: The view that the functional maturation of the brain is the result of an environmentally driven adaptation of genetically preprogrammed neuronal networks is an important current concept in developmental neuroscience and psychology. This hypothesis proposes that early traumatic experiences or early life stress (ELS) as a negative environmental experience provide a major risk factor for the development of dysfunctional brain circuits and as a consequence for the emergence of behavioral dysfunctions and mental disorders in later life periods. This view is supported by an increasing number of clinical as well as experimental animal studies revealing that early life traumas can induce functional 'scars' in the brain, especially in brain circuits, which are essential for emotional control, learning, and memory functions. Such gene × environment interactions are modulated by specific epigenetic mechanisms, which are suggested to be the key factors of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Indeed, there is increasing evidence for inter- and transgenerational cycles of environmentally driven neuronal and behavioral adaptations mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Finally, recent concepts postulate that, dependent on type, time point, and duration of ELS exposure, also positive functional adaptations may occur in the relevant brain pathways, leading to better stress coping and resilience against adversities later in life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology/Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gröger
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology/Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matas
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gos
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology/Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lesse
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biology, Human Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Poeggel
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology/Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.|Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: PG "Epigenetics and Structural Plasticity", Institute of Biology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. joerg.bock@ovgu.de.|Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany. joerg.bock@ovgu.de.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bock
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Early life stress; Epigenetics; Psychopathology; Resilience; Sex differences