Differentially methylated plasticity genes in the amygdala of young primates are linked to anxious temperament, an at risk phenotype for anxiety and depressive disorders.

ABSTRACT: Children with an anxious temperament (AT) are at a substantially increased risk to develop anxiety and depression. The young rhesus monkey is ideal for studying the origin of human AT because it shares with humans the genetic, neural, and phenotypic underpinnings of complex social and emotional functioning. Heritability, functional imaging, and gene expression studies of AT in young monkeys revealed that the central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce) is a key environmentally sensitive substrate of this at risk phenotype. Because epigenetic marks (e.g., DNA methylation) can be modulated by environmental stimuli, these data led us to hypothesize a role for DNA methylation in the development of AT. To test this hypothesis, we used reduced representation bisulfite sequencing to examine the cross-sec

SUBMITTER: Alisch RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4236392 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature