Department of Psychology, Columbia University, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, Room 406, Schermerhorn Hall, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Horm Behav. 2011 Jun;60(1):4-11. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.02.016. Epub 2011 Mar 3.
The non-genomic transmission of maternal behavior from one generation to the next illustrates the pervasive influence of maternal care on offspring development and the high degree of plasticity within the developing maternal brain. Investigations of the mechanisms through which these maternal effects are achieved have demonstrated environmentally-induced changes in gene expression associated with epigenetic modifications within the promoter region of target genes. These findings raise challenging questions regarding the pathways linking experience to behavioral variation and the broader ecological/evolutionary implications of the dynamic changes in neuroendocrine function that emerge. This review will highlight studies in laboratory rodents which demonstrate plasticity in the maternal brain and the role of maternally-induced changes in DNA methylation in establishing the link between variations in maternal care and consequent developmental outcomes. The persistence of maternal effects across generations and the trade-offs in reproduction that are evident in female offspring who experience high vs. low levels of maternal care contribute to our understanding of the divergent strategies that are triggered by the quality of early-life experiences. Evolving concepts of inheritance and the interplay between genes and the environment may advance our understanding of the origins of individual differences in phenotype.
从一代到下一代，非基因组传递的母性行为说明了母性照顾对后代发育的普遍影响，以及发育中的母脑的高度可塑性。对这些母性行为实现机制的研究表明，环境诱导的与目标基因启动子区域内表观遗传修饰相关的基因表达变化。这些发现提出了一些具有挑战性的问题，即经验与行为变异之间的联系途径，以及出现的神经内分泌功能动态变化的更广泛的生态/进化意义。这篇综述将重点介绍实验室啮齿动物的研究，这些研究表明母性行为的可塑性以及母体诱导的 DNA 甲基化变化在建立母性行为变化与随后的发育结果之间的联系中的作用。母性行为在代际间的持续存在以及在经历高或低水平母性照顾的雌性后代中繁殖的权衡，有助于我们理解由早期生活经历质量引发的不同策略。不断发展的遗传概念以及基因与环境之间的相互作用可能会增进我们对表型个体差异起源的理解。
