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.
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TL;DR: These studies indicate that SES is an important predictor of neurocognitive performance, particularly of language and executive function, and that S ES differences are found in neural processing even when performance levels are equal.
1,258 citations
TL;DR: An epigenetic molecular mechanism potentially underlying lifelong and transgenerational perpetuation of changes in gene expression and behavior incited by early abuse and neglect is highlighted.
1,176 citations
TL;DR: The results of this work suggest that patterns of transcription regulation represent the molecular signatures of long-term synaptic changes and memory formation.
Abstract: Transcription is a molecular requisite for long-term synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation. Thus, in the last several years, one main interest of molecular neuroscience has been the identification of families of transcription factors that are involved in both of these processes. Transcription is a highly regulated process that involves the combined interaction and function of chromatin and many other proteins, some of which are essential for the basal process of transcription, while others control the selective activation or repression of specific genes. These regulated interactions ultimately allow a sophisticated response to multiple environmental conditions, as well as control of spatial and temporal differences in gene expression. Evidence based on correlative changes in expression, genetic mutations, and targeted molecular inhibition of gene expression have shed light on the function of transcription in both synaptic plasticity and memory formation. This review provides a brief overview ...
902 citations
Cites background from "Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..."
...[From Gräff and Mansuy (82), with permission from Elsevier....
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...[From Gräff and Mansuy (82), with permission from Elsevier.]...
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TL;DR: As histone acetylation and cognitive functions can be pharmacologically restored by histone deacetylase inhibitors, this epigenetic modification might constitute a molecular memory aid on the chromatin and, by extension, a new template for therapeutic interventions against cognitive frailty.
Abstract: Long-lasting memories require specific gene expression programmes that are, in part, orchestrated by epigenetic mechanisms. Of the epigenetic modifications identified in cognitive processes, histone acetylation has spurred considerable interest. Whereas increments in histone acetylation have consistently been shown to favour learning and memory, a lack thereof has been causally implicated in cognitive impairments in neurodevelopmental disorders, neurodegeneration and ageing. As histone acetylation and cognitive functions can be pharmacologically restored by histone deacetylase inhibitors, this epigenetic modification might constitute a molecular memory aid on the chromatin and, by extension, a new template for therapeutic interventions against cognitive frailty.
506 citations
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TL;DR: This Review develops four defining criteria that enable us to critically assess the recent progress that has been made towards finding the engram, and proposes that findings from 'capture' studies represent considerable progress in allowing us to observe, erase and express the engrams.
Abstract: Many attempts have been made to localize the physical trace of a memory, or engram, in the brain However, until recently, engrams have remained largely elusive In this Review, we develop four defining criteria that enable us to critically assess the recent progress that has been made towards finding the engram Recent 'capture' studies use novel approaches to tag populations of neurons that are active during memory encoding, thereby allowing these engram-associated neurons to be manipulated at later times We propose that findings from these capture studies represent considerable progress in allowing us to observe, erase and express the engram
464 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that recent views on the nature of the developmental process make it easier to understand how the genotypes of evolving organisms can respond to the environment in a more co-ordinated fashion.
Abstract: THE battle, which raged for so long between the theories of evolution supported by geneticists on one hand and by naturalists on the other, has in recent years gone strongly in favour of the former. Few biologists now doubt that genetical investigation has revealed at any rate the most important categories of hereditary variation ; and the classical 'naturalist' theory-the inheritance of acquired characters-has been very generally relegated to the background because, in the forms in which it has been put forward, it has required a type of hereditary variation for the existence of which there was no adequate evidence. The long popularity of the theory was based, not on any positive evidence for it, but on its usefulness in accounting for some of the most striking of the results of evolution. Naturalists cannot fail to be continually and deeply impressed by the adaptation of an organism to its surroundings and of the parts of the organism to each other. These adaptive characters are inherited and some explanation of this must be provided. If we are deprived of the hypothesis of the inheritance of the effects of use and disuse, we seem thrown back on an exclusive reliance on the natural selection of merely chance mutations. It is doubtful, however, whether even the most statistically minded geneticists are entirely satisfied that nothing more is involved than the sorting out of random mutations by the natural selective filter. It is the purpose of this short communication to suggest that recent views on the nature of the developmental process make it easier to understand how the genotypes of evolving organisms can respond to the environment in a more co-ordinated fashion.
2,644 citations
TL;DR: During the past year, more than 2,500 articles, numerous scientific meetings and a new journal were devoted to the subject of epigenetics, portrayed by the popular press as a revolutionary new science — an antidote to the idea that the authors are hard-wired by their genes.
Abstract: Geneticists study the gene; however, for epigeneticists, there is no obvious 'epigene'. Nevertheless, during the past year, more than 2,500 articles, numerous scientific meetings and a new journal were devoted to the subject of epigenetics. It encompasses some of the most exciting contemporary biology and is portrayed by the popular press as a revolutionary new science--an antidote to the idea that we are hard-wired by our genes. So what is epigenetics?
2,613 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])....
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TL;DR: Evidence is provided for the importance of parental care as a mediator of the effects of environmental adversity on neural development and patterns of maternal care that increase stress reactivity in offspring are enhanced by stressors imposed on the mother.
Abstract: Naturally occurring variations in maternal care alter the expression of genes that regulate behavioral and endocrine responses to stress, as well as hippocampal synaptic development. These effects form the basis for the development of stable, individual differences in stress reactivity and certain forms of cognition. Maternal care also influences the maternal behavior of female offspring, an effect that appears to be related to oxytocin receptor gene expression, and which forms the basis for the intergenerational transmission of individual differences in stress reactivity. Patterns of maternal care that increase stress reactivity in offspring are enhanced by stressors imposed on the mother. These findings provide evidence for the importance of parental care as a mediator of the effects of environmental adversity on neural development.
2,526 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...These maternal behaviours strongly influence the evelopment of proper behavioural responses such as the level f anxiety and stress responsiveness in the offspring [106]....
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Book•
01 Apr 1996
TL;DR: It is suggested that recent views on the nature of the developmental process make it easier to understand how the genotypes of evolving organisms can respond to the environment in a more co-ordinated fashion.
Abstract: THE battle, which raged for so long between the theories of evolution supported by geneticists on one hand and by naturalists on the other, has in recent years gone strongly in favour of the former. Few biologists now doubt that genetical investigation has revealed at any rate the most important categories of hereditary variation ; and the classical 'naturalist' theory-the inheritance of acquired characters-has been very generally relegated to the background because, in the forms in which it has been put forward, it has required a type of hereditary variation for the existence of which there was no adequate evidence. The long popularity of the theory was based, not on any positive evidence for it, but on its usefulness in accounting for some of the most striking of the results of evolution. Naturalists cannot fail to be continually and deeply impressed by the adaptation of an organism to its surroundings and of the parts of the organism to each other. These adaptive characters are inherited and some explanation of this must be provided. If we are deprived of the hypothesis of the inheritance of the effects of use and disuse, we seem thrown back on an exclusive reliance on the natural selection of merely chance mutations. It is doubtful, however, whether even the most statistically minded geneticists are entirely satisfied that nothing more is involved than the sorting out of random mutations by the natural selective filter. It is the purpose of this short communication to suggest that recent views on the nature of the developmental process make it easier to understand how the genotypes of evolving organisms can respond to the environment in a more co-ordinated fashion.
2,484 citations
TL;DR: The role of DNA methylation in controlling gene expression is illuminated and its links with histone modification and chromatin remodelling are strengthened, and the mechanisms by which it is targeted to specific regions of the genome are understood.
2,418 citations
"Epigenetic codes in cognition and b..." refers background in this paper
...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]....
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