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Epigenetics of anxiety and stress–related disorders is the field studying the relationship between epigenetic modifications of genes and anxiety and stress-related disorders, including mental health disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and more.
Behavioral epigenetics is the field of study examining the role of epigenetics in shaping animal and human behavior. [1] It seeks to explain how nurture shapes nature, [2] where nature refers to biological heredity [3] and nurture refers to virtually everything that occurs during the life-span (e.g., social-experience, diet and nutrition, and exposure to toxins). [4]
Neuroepigenetic mechanisms regulate gene expression in the neuron. Often, these changes take place due to recurring stimuli. Neuroepigenetic mechanisms involve proteins or protein pathways that regulate gene expression by adding, editing or reading epigenetic marks such as methylation or acetylation.
Research in rodents suggests that epigenetic changes can be observed in genes associated with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which coordinates the body's stress response system. [113] [114] [19] Non-heritable stress-related epigenetic changes have also been studied in monkeys. [115]
Research published in 2023 in the journal Cell Metabolism showed that biological age fluctuates in humans, and such wear and tear caused by stress can be reversed through recovery.
The epigenetic marks can result in a wide range of effects, including minor phenotypic changes to complex diseases and disorders. [8] The complex cell signaling pathways of multicellular organisms such as plants and humans can make understanding the mechanisms of this inherited process very difficult. [9]
Epigenetic mechanisms. Three important methods of epigenetic regulation include histone modification, DNA methylation and demethylation, and microRNA expression. Histones keep the DNA of the eukaryotic cell tightly packaged through charge interactions between the positive charge on the histone tail and the negative charge of the DNA, as well as between histone tails of nearby nucleosomes.
Exposure to stress, particularly during early life, has significant impacts on an individual's response to future experiences of stress. Research on epigenetic changes caused by differences in the amount of time rats were nurtured by their mother is one example of these significant impacts.