Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.
Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA.
Trends Neurosci. 2015 Feb;38(2):96-107. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2014.12.003. Epub 2014 Dec 24.
Gene expression and regulation is an important sculptor of the behavior of organisms. Epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene expression not by altering the genetic alphabet but rather by the addition of chemical modifications to proteins associated with the alphabet or of methyl marks to the alphabet itself. Being dynamic, epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation serve as an important bridge between environmental stimuli and genotype. In this review, we outline epigenetic mechanisms by which gene expression is regulated in animals and humans. Using fear learning as a framework, we then delineate how such mechanisms underlie learning and stress responsiveness. Finally, we discuss how epigenetic mechanisms might inform us about the transgenerational inheritance of behavioral traits that are being increasingly reported.
基因表达和调控是生物体行为的重要塑造者。表观遗传机制通过在与遗传字母相关的蛋白质上添加化学修饰或在遗传字母本身添加甲基标记来调节基因表达，而不是通过改变遗传字母。作为动态的，基因调控的表观遗传机制是环境刺激和基因型之间的重要桥梁。在这篇综述中，我们概述了动物和人类中调节基因表达的表观遗传机制。然后，我们使用恐惧学习作为框架，阐述了这些机制如何构成学习和应激反应性的基础。最后，我们讨论了表观遗传机制如何为我们提供有关行为特征的跨代遗传信息，这些信息越来越多地被报道。
