Epigenetic codes in cognition and behaviour.
TL;DR: Recent findings on the role and mechanisms of epigenetic codes in the brain are described, and their implication in synaptic plasticity, cognitive functions and psychiatric disorders are discussed.
About: This article is published in Behavioural Brain Research.The article was published on 2008-09-01. It has received 260 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Epigenetic code & Epigenetics.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: The findings indicate that SES effects are detectable very early in infancy, which has implications for the timing of both screening and intervention efforts to help children overcome the consequences of living in poverty.
Abstract: Introduction The effects of socioeconomic disparities on cognitive development tend to emerge early in infancy and to widen throughout childhood, and may perpetuate later in life. Although the study of how poverty affects early childhood has increased in the last 20 years, many of the effects remain largely unknown, especially during the first year of life. Aim To investigate the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal education on infants’ language, motor and cognitive development. Methods The cognitive, language and motor skills of 444 infants aged 6 to 9 months selected from a poor neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. A questionnaire on socioeconomic background was administered to the participants’ families. Results A positive association was found between SES and infants’ performance on language and motor scales. Additionally, higher maternal education was associated with higher language and cognitive scores. Conclusion Our findings indicate that SES effects are detectable very early in infancy. This result has implications for the timing of both screening and intervention efforts to help children overcome the consequences of living in poverty.
13 citations
TL;DR: The coordinated activities at glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons may constitute the cellular basis for the transgenerational inheritance of learning ability.
Abstract: The capabilities of learning and memory in parents are presumably transmitted to their offsprings, in which genetic codes and epigenetic regulations are thought as molecular bases. As neural plasticity occurs during memory formation as cellular mechanism, we aim to examine the correlation of activity strengths at cortical glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons to the transgenerational inheritance of learning ability. In a mouse model of associative learning, paired whisker and odor stimulations led to odorant-induced whisker motion, whose onset appeared fast (high learning efficiency, HLE) or slow (low learning efficiency, LLE). HLE male and female mice, HLE female and LLE male mice as well as HLE male and LLE female mice were cross-mated to have their first generation of offsprings, filials (F1). The onset of odorant-induced whisker motion appeared a sequence of high-to-low efficiency in three groups of F1 mice that were from HLE male and female mice, HLE female and LLE male mice as well as HLE male and LLE female mice. Activities related to glutamatergic neurons in barrel cortices appeared a sequence of high-to-low strength in these F1 mice from HLE male and female mice, HLE female and LLE male mice as well as HLE male and LLE female mice. Activities related to GABAergic neurons in barrel cortices appeared a sequence of low-to-high strength in these F1 mice from HLE male and female mice, HLE female and LLE male mice as well as HLE male and LLE female mice. Neuronal activity strength was linearly correlated to learning efficiency among three groups. Thus, the coordinated activities at glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons may constitute the cellular basis for the transgenerational inheritance of learning ability.
13 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that prefrontal cortex is susceptible to epigenetic changes in a protocol dependent-manner and that H4 acetylation levels and DNMT3b content changes might be linked at least in part to exercise-induced effects on brain functions.
13 citations
24 Oct 2019
TL;DR: It is hypothesised that children from different ethnicities and environments have significantly different regulation of response to sensory stimuli and these measures were tested using neurophysiological methods.
Abstract: Background. The world is full of sensory stimuli and adaptation to this is necessary for childhood development. Adaptation involves regulation, a response to the demands of the environment through modifications at the neurophysiological level. The activity between parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous systems has been suggested to be appropriate measures of neurophysiological regulation. Various factors have been suggested to influence the neurophysiological regulation of response towards sensory stimuli. However, the role of ethnicity and environment has rarely been examined. Ethnicity refers to distinct populations that share biological origins and genetic similarities. On the other hand, the environment is defined as the geographic niche that serves as dwelling place among groups of individuals. Understanding the influence of ethnicity and the environment on the regulations of neurophysiological mechanism in response to external challenges can provide a better understanding of the development of adaptive abilities in children. Aim. This thesis aims to examine the role of ethnicity and environment of the regulation of response towards sensory stimuli among children using neurophysiological methods. It is hypothesised that children from different ethnicities and environments have significantly different regulation of response to sensory stimuli. Methods. There are four main hypotheses tested in this thesis that recruited 156 typically developing children ages 7-12 years old from different ethnic groups or environment: geographic (country of habitat) or physical (urban or rural setting) as follows: [1] 31 Chinese children living in Hong Kong (CHK); [2] 28 Filipino children living in Hong Kong (FHK); [3] 52 Filipino children who are living in urban areas (FU); and [4] 43 Filipino children who are living in rural areas (FR) in the Philippines. Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) were respectively recorded and measured using a Polar H2 heart rate monitor and the eSense GSR skin response sensor. Children were subjected to a sensory laboratory paradigm with a resting, auditory stimulation and recovery conditions. Neurophysiological measures of regulation of response to sensory stimuli between groupwise (CHK, FHK, FU and FR) and different pairwise (CHK and FHK, FHK and FU, CHK and FU, FU and FR) combinations at different conditions were tested using mixed factorial analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance and correlation set a p=0.05.
13 citations
Cites background from "Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..."
...Epigenetics endorse the notions that DNA expression can be modified without alterations in the genetic code itself (Gräff & Mansuy, 2008)....
[...]
TL;DR: The concept of transgenerational transmission of epigenetic information is described and it is hypothesized that human explicit self-consciousness may be an active executer that intermediates between unconsciousness and the external environment by means of feedback and feed-forward interactions.
Abstract: Here, we present various research results and thoughts with the intention of challenging notions about free choice. Namely, we describe the concept of transgenerational transmission of epigenetic information and discuss its non-conscious effects on cognitive abilities, behavioral and emotional patterns, and responses with regard to one's life and decisions, and the impact these have on the concept of free will. In addition, we discuss the essential role of unconscious mechanisms in human decision processes. We also show that twin loss in the womb can have a powerful lifelong impact on the surviving twin through non-conscious context-dependent epigenetic changes. Finally, we hypothesize that human explicit self-consciousness may be an active executer that intermediates between unconsciousness and the external environment by means of feedback and feed-forward interactions. This executive function makes it possible for self-consciousness to continuously develop in self-organized evolution.
13 citations
Cites background from "Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..."
...…well as in the pathophysiology of several neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders (Bredy et al., 2007; Miller and Sweatt, 2007; Gräff and Mansuy, 2008; Franklin and Mansuy, 2010; Lubin et al., 2011; Puckett and Lubin, 2011; Crews et al., 2012; Grinkevich, 2012)....
[...]
...Several experiments have revealed that epigenetic mechanisms are essential contributors in neuronal gene expression, synaptic plasticity, long-term memory formation, cognitive functions, emotional health (behavioral plasticity), as well as in the pathophysiology of several neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders (Bredy et al., 2007; Miller and Sweatt, 2007; Gräff and Mansuy, 2008; Franklin and Mansuy, 2010; Lubin et al., 2011; Puckett and Lubin, 2011; Crews et al., 2012; Grinkevich, 2012)....
[...]
References
More filters
TL;DR: The best understood form of long-term potentiation is induced by the activation of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor complex, which allows electrical events at the postsynaptic membrane to be transduced into chemical signals which, in turn, are thought to activate both pre- and post Synaptic mechanisms to generate a persistent increase in synaptic strength.
Abstract: Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus is the primary experimental model for investigating the synaptic basis of learning and memory in vertebrates. The best understood form of long-term potentiation is induced by the activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor complex. This subtype of glutamate receptor endows long-term potentiation with Hebbian characteristics, and allows electrical events at the postsynaptic membrane to be transduced into chemical signals which, in turn, are thought to activate both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms to generate a persistent increase in synaptic strength.
11,123 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...These forms f plasticity reflect respectively, an increase and a decrease in he efficiency of synaptic transmission, and have been extenively studied in the hippocampus, a brain area required for earning and memory (for a review see [30])....
[...]
TL;DR: The surface of nucleosomes is studded with a multiplicity of modifications that can dictate the higher-order chromatin structure in which DNA is packaged and can orchestrate the ordered recruitment of enzyme complexes to manipulate DNA.
10,046 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...Chronic xposure to an aggressor results in pronounced social avoidnce, prolonged downregulation of two splice variants of Bdnf, dnfIII and BdnfIV in the hippocampus and increased promoter imethylation of H3K27 [102], a mark of transcriptional represion [20]....
[...]
TL;DR: It is proposed that this epigenetic marking system represents a fundamental regulatory mechanism that has an impact on most, if not all, chromatin-templated processes, with far-reaching consequences for cell fate decisions and both normal and pathological development.
Abstract: Chromatin, the physiological template of all eukaryotic genetic information, is subject to a diverse array of posttranslational modifications that largely impinge on histone amino termini, thereby regulating access to the underlying DNA. Distinct histone amino-terminal modifications can generate synergistic or antagonistic interaction affinities for chromatin-associated proteins, which in turn dictate dynamic transitions between transcriptionally active or transcriptionally silent chromatin states. The combinatorial nature of histone amino-terminal modifications thus reveals a “histone code” that considerably extends the information potential of the genetic code. We propose that this epigenetic marking system represents a fundamental regulatory mechanism that has an impact on most, if not all, chromatin-templated processes, with far-reaching consequences for cell fate decisions and both normal and pathological development.
9,309 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...These nzymes operate both independently and in synergy to establish “histone code”, a highly dynamic and flexible chromatin markng that, in combination with chromatin-associated proteins, etermines the pattern of gene expression in response to given xternal stimuli [24,25]....
[...]
TL;DR: The heritability of methylation states and the secondary nature of the decision to invite or exclude methylation support the idea that DNA methylation is adapted for a specific cellular memory function in development.
Abstract: The character of a cell is defined by its constituent proteins, which are the result of specific patterns of gene expression. Crucial determinants of gene expression patterns are DNA-binding transcription factors that choose genes for transcriptional activation or repression by recognizing the sequence of DNA bases in their promoter regions. Interaction of these factors with their cognate sequences triggers a chain of events, often involving changes in the structure of chromatin, that leads to the assembly of an active transcription complex (e.g., Cosma et al. 1999). But the types of transcription factors present in a cell are not alone sufficient to define its spectrum of gene activity, as the transcriptional potential of a genome can become restricted in a stable manner during development. The constraints imposed by developmental history probably account for the very low efficiency of cloning animals from the nuclei of differentiated cells (Rideout et al. 2001; Wakayama and Yanagimachi 2001). A “transcription factors only” model would predict that the gene expression pattern of a differentiated nucleus would be completely reversible upon exposure to a new spectrum of factors. Although many aspects of expression can be reprogrammed in this way (Gurdon 1999), some marks of differentiation are evidently so stable that immersion in an alien cytoplasm cannot erase the memory. The genomic sequence of a differentiated cell is thought to be identical in most cases to that of the zygote from which it is descended (mammalian B and T cells being an obvious exception). This means that the marks of developmental history are unlikely to be caused by widespread somatic mutation. Processes less irrevocable than mutation fall under the umbrella term “epigenetic” mechanisms. A current definition of epigenetics is: “The study of mitotically and/or meiotically heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence” (Russo et al. 1996). There are two epigenetic systems that affect animal development and fulfill the criterion of heritability: DNA methylation and the Polycomb-trithorax group (Pc-G/trx) protein complexes. (Histone modification has some attributes of an epigenetic process, but the issue of heritability has yet to be resolved.) This review concerns DNA methylation, focusing on the generation, inheritance, and biological significance of genomic methylation patterns in the development of mammals. Data will be discussed favoring the notion that DNA methylation may only affect genes that are already silenced by other mechanisms in the embryo. Embryonic transcription, on the other hand, may cause the exclusion of the DNA methylation machinery. The heritability of methylation states and the secondary nature of the decision to invite or exclude methylation support the idea that DNA methylation is adapted for a specific cellular memory function in development. Indeed, the possibility will be discussed that DNA methylation and Pc-G/trx may represent alternative systems of epigenetic memory that have been interchanged over evolutionary time. Animal DNA methylation has been the subject of several recent reviews (Bird and Wolffe 1999; Bestor 2000; Hsieh 2000; Costello and Plass 2001; Jones and Takai 2001). For recent reviews of plant and fungal DNA methylation, see Finnegan et al. (2000), Martienssen and Colot (2001), and Matzke et al. (2001).
6,691 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...ecause of the covalent nature of the binding of methyl groups o the C5 carbon in cytosine, DNA methylation is thought to be he most stable epigenetic mark [9]....
[...]
...DNA methylation is commonly associated with ranscriptional silencing because it can directly inhibit the bindng of transcription factors or regulators, or indirectly recruit ethyl-CpG binding proteins (MBPs), which have repressive hromatin-remodeling functions [9,10]....
[...]
...Most cases of RS are caused by mutaions in the gene coding for methyl-CpG binding protein 2 MeCP2) [62], a member of the MBP family involved in ong-term gene silencing (for a review see [9])....
[...]
TL;DR: Advances in the understanding of the mechanism and role of DNA methylation in biological processes are reviewed, showing that epigenetic mechanisms seem to allow an organism to respond to the environment through changes in gene expression.
Abstract: Cells of a multicellular organism are genetically homogeneous but structurally and functionally heterogeneous owing to the differential expression of genes. Many of these differences in gene expression arise during development and are subsequently retained through mitosis. Stable alterations of this kind are said to be 'epigenetic', because they are heritable in the short term but do not involve mutations of the DNA itself. Research over the past few years has focused on two molecular mechanisms that mediate epigenetic phenomena: DNA methylation and histone modifications. Here, we review advances in the understanding of the mechanism and role of DNA methylation in biological processes. Epigenetic effects by means of DNA methylation have an important role in development but can also arise stochastically as animals age. Identification of proteins that mediate these effects has provided insight into this complex process and diseases that occur when it is perturbed. External influences on epigenetic processes are seen in the effects of diet on long-term diseases such as cancer. Thus, epigenetic mechanisms seem to allow an organism to respond to the environment through changes in gene expression. The extent to which environmental effects can provoke epigenetic responses represents an exciting area of future research.
5,760 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...ot be explained by changes in the DNA sequence itself [3] reviewed in [4,5])....
[...]