[Early life stressful experiences and neuropsychiatric vulnerability: evidences from human and animal models]

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Human newborns require parental care for survival and healthy brain development.
• Early life adversity, including prenatal stress, significantly impacts adult health and increases susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders.
• While critical developmental periods are recognized, the mechanisms linking early stress to long-term effects remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the underlying mechanisms of long-term effects from early life adversity.
• To investigate the role of epigenetic processes in the intergenerational transmission of stress-induced vulnerabilities.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent animal studies on early life adversity and epigenetic modifications.
• Analysis of evidence for germ cell involvement in transmitting stress-related vulnerabilities.

Main Results:

• Epigenetic mechanisms, particularly modifications within germ cells, are implicated in the long-term consequences of early life stress.
• These epigenetic changes in germ cells show potential for transmission across generations, influencing offspring vulnerability.

Conclusions:

• Epigenetic modifications in germ cells represent a key mechanism for the intergenerational inheritance of vulnerabilities induced by early life adversity.
• Understanding these epigenetic pathways is crucial for addressing the long-term health impacts of early stress.