Publication:
Can epigenetics shine a light on the biological pathways underlying major mental disorders?

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2022-02-23

Authors

Alameda, Luis
Trotta, Giulia
Quigley, Harriet
Rodriguez, Victoria
Gadelrab, Romayne
Dwir, Daniella
Dempster, Emma
Wong, Chloe C Y
Di-Forti, Marta

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Cambridge University Press
Metrics
Google Scholar
Export

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Abstract

A significant proportion of the global burden of disease can be attributed to mental illness. Despite important advances in identifying risk factors for mental health conditions, the biological processing underlying causal pathways to disease onset remain poorly understood. This represents a limitation to implement effective prevention and the development of novel pharmacological treatments. Epigenetic mechanisms have emerged as mediators of environmental and genetic risk factors which might play a role in disease onset, including childhood adversity (CA) and cannabis use (CU). Particularly, human research exploring DNA methylation has provided new and promising insights into the role of biological pathways implicated in the aetio-pathogenesis of psychiatric conditions, including: monoaminergic (Serotonin and Dopamine), GABAergic, glutamatergic, neurogenesis, inflammatory and immune response and oxidative stress. While these epigenetic changes have been often studied as disease-specific, similarly to the investigation of environmental risk factors, they are often transdiagnostic. Therefore, we aim to review the existing literature on DNA methylation from human studies of psychiatric diseases (i) to identify epigenetic modifications mapping onto biological pathways either transdiagnostically or specifically related to psychiatric diseases such as Eating Disorders, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar and Psychotic Disorder, Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anxiety Disorder, and (ii) to investigate a convergence between some of these epigenetic modifications and the exposure to known risk factors for psychiatric disorders such as CA and CU, as well as to other epigenetic confounders in psychiatry research.

Description

MeSH Terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Copper
DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic
Humans
Mental Disorders
Psychotic Disorders
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

DeCS Terms

Epigenómica
Trastornos mentales
Enfermedad
Investigación
Metilación de ADN
Rol
Cannabis
Trastornos de ansiedad
Dopamina
Neurogénesis

CIE Terms

Keywords

DNA-methylation, Epigenetics, childhood trauma, mental health disorders

Citation

Alameda L, Trotta G, Quigley H, Rodriguez V, Gadelrab R, Dwir D, et al. Can epigenetics shine a light on the biological pathways underlying major mental disorders? Psychol Med. 2022 Jul;52(9):1645-1665.