Lutz Pierre-Eric, Almeida Daniel, Fiori Laura M, Turecki Gustavo
McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Verdun, Quebec, Canada, H4H 1R3.
Curr Pharm Des. 2015;21(11):1413-7. doi: 10.2174/1381612821666150105124928.
Childhood maltreatment (CM) is all too frequent among western societies, with an estimated prevalence of 10 to 15%. CM associates with increased risk of several psychiatric disorders, and therefore represents a worrying public and socioeconomic burden. While associated clinical outcomes are well characterized, determining by which mechanisms early-life adverse experiences affect mental health over the lifespan is a major challenge. Epigenetic mechanisms, in particular DNA methylation, represent a form of molecular memory that may modify brain function over extended periods of time, as well as serve as a bio-marker of behavioral phenotypes associated with CM. Here, we review human studies suggesting that DNA methylation is a crucial substrate mediating neurobiological consequences of CM throughout life, thereby potentiating maladaptive behavioral patterns and psychopathological risk.
童年期受虐（CM）在西方社会极为常见，估计患病率为10%至15%。CM与多种精神疾病风险增加相关，因此是一个令人担忧的公共卫生和社会经济负担。虽然相关的临床结果已得到充分描述，但确定早期不良经历在整个生命周期中影响心理健康的机制是一项重大挑战。表观遗传机制，尤其是DNA甲基化，代表了一种分子记忆形式，可能在很长一段时间内改变大脑功能，同时也可作为与CM相关的行为表型的生物标志物。在此，我们综述了一些人体研究，这些研究表明DNA甲基化是介导CM终生神经生物学后果的关键底物，从而加剧适应不良行为模式和精神病理风险。
