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Updated: Sep 5, 2025
13:11
Optimized Analysis of DNA Methylation and Gene Expression from Small, Anatomically-defined Areas of the Brain
Published on: July 12, 2012
18.9K
Environmental neuroscience linking exposome to brain structure and function underlying cognition and behavior.
Feng Liu1, Jiayuan Xu1, Lining Guo1
1Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052, PR China.
Molecular Psychiatry
|July 5, 2022
Summary
Understanding brain differences requires studying lifetime environmental exposures (exposome) alongside genetics. This approach reveals cumulative environmental effects and critical developmental periods influencing brain structure and function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Individual brain variations stem from genetics, environment, and their interplay.
- Genome-wide studies link genetic variants to brain imaging, but environmental factors remain understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To emphasize environmental neuroscience's role in exploring exposome-brain imaging associations.
- To identify cumulative environmental impacts and sensitive life-course windows on brain phenotypes.
Main Methods:
- Proposing exposome-neuroimaging association studies.
- Addressing challenges in measuring diverse, dynamic environmental exposures.
- Developing standardized approaches for exposome-wide association studies.
Main Results:
- This research highlights the need for comprehensive environmental exposure assessment.
- It identifies challenges in current exposome research methodologies.
- It sets the stage for future exposome-neuroimaging analyses.
Conclusions:
- Exposome-neuroimaging studies are crucial for understanding individual brain differences.
- These analyses will illuminate causal environmental factors affecting brain structure, function, cognition, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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