Psychiatric Diseases Caused by Childhood Adversity

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (9 June 2023) | Viewed by 3597

Special Issue Editor

Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: psychosis; suicide; adversities; cognition; trauma

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Adversity is common in early life, and can include erratic parenting, different forms of abuse, physical and emotional neglect, severe bullying by peers, and so on. These distressing experiences can affect children's neurodevelopment and mental health, and can ultimately lead to a risk of mental illness throughout the lifespan. It has already been established that the risk of psychiatric conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia greatly increase after childhood adversity.

In recent years, many animal models relating to early life adversity/stress have been developed, providing us with a better understanding of how early life adversity re-programs the brain and how it leads to behavioral dysfunction. The clinical importance of these findings has been greatly appreciated; however, there are many remaining gaps in our knowledge and further investigation is needed.

The present Special Issue aims to collect original research, reviews and opinion articles regarding research that will help us better understand how early life adversity impacts mental illness.

Dr. Łukasz Gawęda
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • psychiatric diseases
  • childhood adversity
  • early life stress
  • maltreatment
  • trauma
  • adverse childhood experiences

Published Papers (2 papers)

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12 pages, 1810 KiB  
Article
Effects of Early Adverse Life Events on Depression and Cognitive Performance from the Perspective of the Heart-Brain Axis
by Yujie Xia, Gaohua Wang, Ling Xiao, Yiwei Du, Shanshan Lin, Cai Nan and Shenhong Weng
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(8), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13081174 - 07 Aug 2023
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Abstract
Early adverse life events (EALs) increase susceptibility to depression and impair cognitive performance, but the physiological mechanisms are still unclear. The target of this article is to clarify the impact of adverse childhood experiences on emotional and cognitive performance from the perspective of [...] Read more.
Early adverse life events (EALs) increase susceptibility to depression and impair cognitive performance, but the physiological mechanisms are still unclear. The target of this article is to clarify the impact of adverse childhood experiences on emotional and cognitive performance from the perspective of the heart–brain axis. We used the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) to test cognitive function and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess adverse childhood experiences. Heart rate variability (HRV) and electroencephalograms (EEG) were acquired at rest. We observed that subjects with depression had experienced more traumatic events during their childhood. Furthermore, they exhibited lower heart rate variability and higher power in the delta, theta, and alpha frequency bands. Moreover, heart rate variability partially mediated the association between childhood trauma exposure and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggested that adverse life events in childhood could influence the development of depression in adulthood, which might be linked to cardiac autonomic dysfunction and altered brain function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychiatric Diseases Caused by Childhood Adversity)
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11 pages, 893 KiB  
Systematic Review
DNA Methylation of Genes Involved in the HPA Axis in Presence of Suicide Behavior: A Systematic Review
by Diana María Dionisio-García, Alma Delia Genis-Mendoza, Thelma Beatriz González-Castro, Carlos Alfonso Tovilla-Zárate, Isela Esther Juarez-Rojop, María Lilia López-Narváez, Yazmín Hernández-Díaz, Humberto Nicolini and Viridiana Olvera-Hernández
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(4), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13040584 - 30 Mar 2023
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Abstract
DNA methylation in genes of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis has been associated with suicide behavior. Through a systematic review, we aimed to evaluate DNA methylation levels of the genes involved in the HPA pathway and their association with suicide behavior. A search of [...] Read more.
DNA methylation in genes of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis has been associated with suicide behavior. Through a systematic review, we aimed to evaluate DNA methylation levels of the genes involved in the HPA pathway and their association with suicide behavior. A search of articles was performed using PubMed and Science Direct, EBSCO. The terms included were “DNA methylation”, “suicide”, “epigenetics”, “HPA axis” and “suicide behavior”. This systematic review was performed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Six studies comprising 743 cases and 761 controls were included in this systematic review. The studies included individuals with suicide ideation, suicide attempts or completed suicide and childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or depression. One study reported hypermethylation in GR in childhood trauma, while two studies found hypermethylation of NR3C1 in childhood trauma and major depressive disorder (MDD). Only one study reported hypermethylation in BNDF in people with MDD. FKBP5 was found to be hypermethylated in people with MDD. Another study reported hypermethylation in CRHBP. SKA2 was reported to be hypermethylated in one study and another study found hypomethylated both in populations with PTSD. CRHR1 was found to be hypermethylated in people with MDD, and the last study found hypomethylation in CRH. Our result showed that patients with suicidal behavior showed a DNA methylation state of genes of the HPA axis in association with psychiatric comorbidity and with adverse events. Genes of the HPA axis could play a role in suicidal behavior associated with adverse events and pathologies. As a result, DNA methylation levels, proteins, and genes involved in the HPA axis could be considered for the search for biomarkers for the prevention of suicidal behavior in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychiatric Diseases Caused by Childhood Adversity)
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