Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026
Author Spotlight: Exploring Microglial Interactions with Stress-Response Circuitry Using the Limited Bedding and Nesting Model
Published on: July 12, 2024
The long-term impact of adverse caregiving environments on epigenetic modifications and telomeres
Jennifer Blaze1, Arun Asok1, Tania L Roth1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware Newark, DE, USA.
Insights
Early life stress impacts brain development and mental health. Adverse caregiving can lead to long-term epigenetic and telomere changes, increasing psychopathology risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Genetics
Background:
- Early childhood experiences significantly shape brain development and behavior.
- Infant stress and adversity in caregiving contexts elevate the risk for psychiatric disorders.
- Animal models offer insights into molecular mechanisms, but a complete biological understanding is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review clinical and animal studies on long-term epigenetic and telomeric alterations resulting from adverse early-life caregiving.
- To explore the role of epigenetic modifications in mediating the link between adverse environments and psychopathology.
- To examine changes in DNA methylation, microRNA processing, and telomeres following early-life adversity.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical studies on human infants.
- Analysis of findings from animal models of early-life stress.
- Examination of molecular mechanisms including DNA methylation, microRNA, and telomere biology.
Main Results:
- Adverse caregiving environments induce lasting epigenetic modifications (DNA methylation, microRNA processing) in the brain and body.
- Telomeres and associated epigenetic factors show long-term changes in response to early-life adversity.
- These molecular changes are implicated as mediators between adverse experiences and psychopathology.
Conclusions:
- Environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications and telomere alterations are key biological pathways linking early-life adversity to psychopathology.
- Understanding these molecular changes is crucial for developing interventions for mental health disorders.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex interplay between caregiving, epigenetics, telomeres, and mental health outcomes.
Abstract:
Early childhood is a sensitive period in which infant-caregiver experiences have profound effects on brain development and behavior. Clinical studies have demonstrated that infants who experience stress and adversity in the context of caregiving are at an increased risk for the development of psychiatric disorders. Animal models have helped to elucidate some molecular substrates of these risk factors, but a complete picture of the biological basis remains unknown. Studies continue to indicate that environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications may be an important mediator between adverse caregiving environments and psychopathology. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, which normally represses gene transcription, and microRNA processing, which interferes with both transcription and translation, show long-term changes throughout the brain and body following adverse caregiving. Recent evidence has also shown that telomeres (TTAGGG nucleotide repeats that cap the ends of DNA) exhibit long-term changes in the brain and in the periphery following exposure to adverse caregiving environments. Interestingly, telomeric enzymes and subtelomeric regions are subject to epigenetic modifications-a factor which may play an important role in regulating telomere length and contribute to future mental health. This review will focus on clinical and animal studies that highlight the long-term epigenetic and telomeric changes produced by adverse caregiving in early-life.
Related Concept Videos
01:37Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
01:46Epigenetic Regulation
01:46Epigenetic Regulation
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
01:20Gene-Environment Interactions
02:41Telomeres and Telomerase