The first 1000 days from conception are a sensitive period for human development programming. Dur... more The first 1000 days from conception are a sensitive period for human development programming. During this period, environmental exposures may result in long-lasting epigenetic imprints that contribute to future developmental trajectories. The present review reports on the effects of adverse and protective environmental conditions occurring during the first 1000 days on glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) regulation in humans. Thirty-four studies were included. Wide variations emerged for biological tissues, number and position of analyzed CpG sites, and age at methylation and outcomes assessment. Increased NR3C1 methylation associated with first 1000 days stress exposures. Maternal caregiving behaviors significantly buffered precocious stress exposures. A less robust pattern of findings emerged for the association of NR3C1 methylation with physical health, neurobehavioral and neuroendocrine outcomes. Although drawing comprehensive conclusions is partially hindered by methodological limitations, the present review underlines the relevance of the first 1000 days from conception as a time window for developmental plasticity. Prospective cohort studies and epigenome-wide approaches may increase our understanding of dynamics epigenetic changes and their consequences for child development.
Abstract Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modificatio... more Abstract Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications in shaping developmental trajectories, influencing personalized expression of genetic information and thus modulating vulnerability and resiliency to psychiatric diseases. The most influential epigenetic human studies are predicated on significant experimental findings in animals that have shown that brain development and function are sculpted by very early or even ancestral experiences. Animal models allow to prospectively manipulate under controlled conditions the exposures to aversive or permissive environment and to evaluate immediate, long-term and transgenerational consequences on candidate gene expression and behavior. This chapter reports animal studies focused on the role of postnatal maternal care in inducing stable individual differences in the offspring, and on the consequences of the exposure to aversive and permissive environments for neurobiology and behavior.
Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications in sha... more Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications in shaping developmental trajectories, influencing personalized expression of genetic information and thus modulating vulnerability and resiliency to psychiatric diseases. The most influential epigenetic human studies are predicated on significant experimental findings in animals that have shown that brain development and function are sculpted by very early or even ancestral experiences. Animal models allow to prospectively manipulate under controlled conditions the exposures to aversive or permissive environment and to evaluate immediate, long-term and transgenerational consequences on candidate gene expression and behavior. This chapter reports animal studies focused on the role of postnatal maternal care in inducing stable individual differences in the offspring, and on the consequences of the exposure to aversive and permissive environments for neurobiology and behavior.
Background Approach system considered a motivational system that activates reward-seeking behavio... more Background Approach system considered a motivational system that activates reward-seeking behavior is associated with exploration/impulsivity, whereas avoidance system considered an attentional system that promotes inhibition of appetitive responses is associated with active overt withdrawal. Approach and avoidance dispositions are modulated by distinct neurochemical profiles and synaptic patterns. However, the precise working of neurons and trafficking of molecules in the brain activity predisposing to approach and avoidance are yet unclear. Methods In 3 phenotypes of inbred mice, avoiding, balancing, and approaching mice, selected by using the Approach/Avoidance Y-maze, we analyzed endogenous brain levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor, one of the main secretory proteins with pleiotropic action. To verify the effects of the acute increase of brain derived neurotrophic factor, balancing and avoiding mice were bilaterally brain derived neurotrophic factor-infused in the cortic...
Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental setting broadly used for investigating the effec... more Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental setting broadly used for investigating the effects of complex social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations on brain structure and function. Recent studies point out that parental EE experience, even occurring in the pre-reproductive phase, affects neural development and behavioral trajectories of the offspring. In the present study we investigated the influences of pre-reproductive EE of female rats on maternal behavior and adolescent male offspring's coping response to an inescapable stressful situation after chronic social isolation. For this purpose female Wistar rats were housed from weaning to breeding age in enriched or standard environments. Subsequently, all females were mated and housed in standard conditions until offspring weaning. On the first post partum day (ppd 1), mother-pup interactions in undisturbed conditions were recorded. Further, after weaning the male pups were reared for 2 weeks under social isolation ...
Potentiating social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations the Environmental Enrichment (EE) i... more Potentiating social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations the Environmental Enrichment (EE) increases levels of novelty and complexity experienced by individuals. Growing evidence demonstrates that parental EE experience, even occurring in the pre‐reproductive phase, affects behavioral and neural developmental trajectories of the offspring. To discover how the accumulation of early maternal complex experiences may inform and shape the social behavior of the following generation, we examined the effects of pre‐reproductive enrichment of dams (post‐natal days 21–72) on the play performances of their male and female adolescent offspring. Furthermore, we examined the effects of pre‐reproductive enrichment on maternal behavior (during post‐partum days 1–10) and male intruder aggression (on post‐partum day 11). Since oxytocin modulates maternal care, social bonding, and agonistic behavior, the number of oxytocinergic neurons of the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei was...
The first 1000 days from conception are a sensitive period for human development programming. Dur... more The first 1000 days from conception are a sensitive period for human development programming. During this period, environmental exposures may result in long-lasting epigenetic imprints that contribute to future developmental trajectories. The present review reports on the effects of adverse and protective environmental conditions occurring during the first 1000 days on glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) regulation in humans. Thirty-four studies were included. Wide variations emerged for biological tissues, number and position of analyzed CpG sites, and age at methylation and outcomes assessment. Increased NR3C1 methylation associated with first 1000 days stress exposures. Maternal caregiving behaviors significantly buffered precocious stress exposures. A less robust pattern of findings emerged for the association of NR3C1 methylation with physical health, neurobehavioral and neuroendocrine outcomes. Although drawing comprehensive conclusions is partially hindered by methodological limitations, the present review underlines the relevance of the first 1000 days from conception as a time window for developmental plasticity. Prospective cohort studies and epigenome-wide approaches may increase our understanding of dynamics epigenetic changes and their consequences for child development.
Abstract Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modificatio... more Abstract Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications in shaping developmental trajectories, influencing personalized expression of genetic information and thus modulating vulnerability and resiliency to psychiatric diseases. The most influential epigenetic human studies are predicated on significant experimental findings in animals that have shown that brain development and function are sculpted by very early or even ancestral experiences. Animal models allow to prospectively manipulate under controlled conditions the exposures to aversive or permissive environment and to evaluate immediate, long-term and transgenerational consequences on candidate gene expression and behavior. This chapter reports animal studies focused on the role of postnatal maternal care in inducing stable individual differences in the offspring, and on the consequences of the exposure to aversive and permissive environments for neurobiology and behavior.
Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications in sha... more Converging evidence highlights the role of environmentally-driven epigenetic modifications in shaping developmental trajectories, influencing personalized expression of genetic information and thus modulating vulnerability and resiliency to psychiatric diseases. The most influential epigenetic human studies are predicated on significant experimental findings in animals that have shown that brain development and function are sculpted by very early or even ancestral experiences. Animal models allow to prospectively manipulate under controlled conditions the exposures to aversive or permissive environment and to evaluate immediate, long-term and transgenerational consequences on candidate gene expression and behavior. This chapter reports animal studies focused on the role of postnatal maternal care in inducing stable individual differences in the offspring, and on the consequences of the exposure to aversive and permissive environments for neurobiology and behavior.
Background Approach system considered a motivational system that activates reward-seeking behavio... more Background Approach system considered a motivational system that activates reward-seeking behavior is associated with exploration/impulsivity, whereas avoidance system considered an attentional system that promotes inhibition of appetitive responses is associated with active overt withdrawal. Approach and avoidance dispositions are modulated by distinct neurochemical profiles and synaptic patterns. However, the precise working of neurons and trafficking of molecules in the brain activity predisposing to approach and avoidance are yet unclear. Methods In 3 phenotypes of inbred mice, avoiding, balancing, and approaching mice, selected by using the Approach/Avoidance Y-maze, we analyzed endogenous brain levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor, one of the main secretory proteins with pleiotropic action. To verify the effects of the acute increase of brain derived neurotrophic factor, balancing and avoiding mice were bilaterally brain derived neurotrophic factor-infused in the cortic...
Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental setting broadly used for investigating the effec... more Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental setting broadly used for investigating the effects of complex social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations on brain structure and function. Recent studies point out that parental EE experience, even occurring in the pre-reproductive phase, affects neural development and behavioral trajectories of the offspring. In the present study we investigated the influences of pre-reproductive EE of female rats on maternal behavior and adolescent male offspring's coping response to an inescapable stressful situation after chronic social isolation. For this purpose female Wistar rats were housed from weaning to breeding age in enriched or standard environments. Subsequently, all females were mated and housed in standard conditions until offspring weaning. On the first post partum day (ppd 1), mother-pup interactions in undisturbed conditions were recorded. Further, after weaning the male pups were reared for 2 weeks under social isolation ...
Potentiating social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations the Environmental Enrichment (EE) i... more Potentiating social, cognitive, and sensorimotor stimulations the Environmental Enrichment (EE) increases levels of novelty and complexity experienced by individuals. Growing evidence demonstrates that parental EE experience, even occurring in the pre‐reproductive phase, affects behavioral and neural developmental trajectories of the offspring. To discover how the accumulation of early maternal complex experiences may inform and shape the social behavior of the following generation, we examined the effects of pre‐reproductive enrichment of dams (post‐natal days 21–72) on the play performances of their male and female adolescent offspring. Furthermore, we examined the effects of pre‐reproductive enrichment on maternal behavior (during post‐partum days 1–10) and male intruder aggression (on post‐partum day 11). Since oxytocin modulates maternal care, social bonding, and agonistic behavior, the number of oxytocinergic neurons of the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei was...
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Papers by Erica Berretta