Bidirectional rescue of extreme genetic predispositions to anxiety: impact of CRH receptor 1 as epigenetic plasticity gene in the amygdala.

ABSTRACT: The continuum of physiological anxiety up to psychopathology is not merely dependent on genes, but is orchestrated by the interplay of genetic predisposition, gene x environment and epigenetic interactions. Accordingly, inborn anxiety is considered a polygenic, multifactorial trait, likely to be shaped by environmentally driven plasticity at the genomic level. We here took advantage of the extreme genetic predisposition of the selectively bred high (HAB) and low anxiety (LAB) mouse model exhibiting high vs low anxiety-related behavior and tested whether and how beneficial (enriched environment) vs detrimental (chronic mild stress) environmental manipulations are capable of rescuing phenotypes from both ends of the anxiety continuum. We provide evidence that (i) even inborn and seemingly ri

SUBMITTER: Sotnikov SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3944631 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature