Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), European Graduate School of Neuroscience (EURON), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University Medical Centre +, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2018;158:1-13. doi: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2018.04.003. Epub 2018 Jun 11.
Epigenetics refers to environmentally sensitive modifications to DNA and chromatin that regulate gene transcription without altering the genetic sequence itself. Because of the brain's central role in a person's adaptation to dynamic changes in the environment, the field of epigenetic research is particularly pertinent for the neurosciences and mental health and illness. "Neuroepigenetics" refers to the field of epigenetics, as applied to research of the nervous system and related functional abilities. The onset and course of mental disorders revolve around person-environment interactions, i.e., the interplay between environmental factors with people (and their brain) throughout life and on the background of an individual's inherited genomic make-up. With respect to the nervous system and its functional abilities, neuroepigenetic research aims to turn the inside outs by explicating the epigenetic profiles that regulate gene expression within cells while epigenetic profiles themselves may reflect the imprints of external factors (the outside of the organism). Neuroepigenetic research is of prime importance for elucidating the molecular underpinnings of gene-environment interplay in relation to functional abilities of the brain and mental health throughout life, and thus for identifying the mechanisms underlying onset and course of mental disorders. However, neuroepigenetic research is still in its infancy and many conceptual and methodological challenges are apparent. In addition, there are considerable complexities and major challenges in conceptualizing the nature and diagnosis of mental disorders, and these need to be taken into account in studying neuroepigenetics of mental disorders. The current manuscript provides an overview and conceptual framework for neuroepigenetic research in mental disorders.
表观遗传学是指 DNA 和染色质的环境敏感修饰，这些修饰可以调节基因转录，而不改变遗传序列本身。由于大脑在一个人适应环境的动态变化方面起着核心作用，因此表观遗传学研究领域对于神经科学和精神健康与疾病特别相关。“神经表观遗传学”是指应用于神经系统及其相关功能能力研究的表观遗传学领域。精神障碍的发病和病程围绕着人与环境的相互作用，即环境因素与一生中的人和（他们的大脑）相互作用，以及个体遗传基因组构成的背景。就神经系统及其功能能力而言，神经表观遗传学研究旨在通过阐明调节细胞内基因表达的表观遗传特征来揭示内在的情况，而表观遗传特征本身可能反映了外部因素的印记（生物体的外部）。神经表观遗传学研究对于阐明与大脑功能能力和一生精神健康相关的基因-环境相互作用的分子基础至关重要，从而有助于确定精神障碍发病和病程的机制。然而，神经表观遗传学研究仍处于起步阶段，存在许多概念和方法学上的挑战。此外，在概念化精神障碍的性质和诊断方面存在相当大的复杂性和主要挑战，在研究精神障碍的神经表观遗传学时需要考虑这些因素。本手稿提供了精神障碍神经表观遗传学研究的概述和概念框架。
