Epigenetic Perpetuation of the Impact of Early Life Stress on Behavior

There is growing support for epigenetic perpetuation of early life stressful experiences on offspring behavior. Evidence primarily exists for maternal psychosocial experiences (i.e. mood and exposure to stress, adversity, or trauma) to associate with epigenetic modification to offspring genes involved in neurobehavioral pathways (i.e. glucocorticoid, oxytocin, and serotonin system genes). Such epigenetic modifications associate with altered infant neurobehavioral developmental profiles, stress reactivity, and maladaptive behaviors observed in childhood and/or adolescence. Epigenetic transmission of adverse early life experiences to the offspring genome most often occurs during the prenatal and early postnatal periods, when developing systems are more sensitive to environmental signals. Emerging work suggests interventions that foster positive maternal–infant interactions may attenuate the epigenetic impact of early life stress.