Examining the epigenetic mechanisms of childhood adversity and sensitive periods: A gene set-based approach.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sensitive periods are developmental stages of heightened plasticity when life experiences, including exposure to childhood adversity, have the potential to exert more lasting impacts. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation (DNAm), may provide a pathway through which adversity induces long-term biological changes. DNAm shifts may be more likely to occur during sensitive periods, especially within genes that regulate the timing of sensitive periods. Here, we investigated the possibility that childhood adversity during specific life stages is associated with DNAm changes in genes known to regulate the timing and duration of sensitive periods.

Methods

Genome-wide DNAm profiles came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 785). We first

SUBMITTER: Zhu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9885844 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature