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Epigenetics and the Environmental Regulation of Genomic Structure and Function: Implications for Health

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Epigenetics, Brain and Behavior

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences ((NEUROSCIENCE))

Abstract

There are numerous examples in the behavioral sciences of the enduring effects of early experience on neural and immune function. In this article we review the emerging evidence for epigenetics as a candidate mechanism for these effects. Epigenetics refers to functionally relevant modifications to the genome that do not involve a change in nucleotide sequence. Such modifications include chemical marks that regulate the transcription of the genome. There is now evidence that environmental events can directly modify the epigenetic state of the genome. Thus studies with rodent models suggest that, during both early development and in adult life, environmental signals activate intracellular pathways that directly remodel the “epigenome,” leading to changes in gene expression that modulate neural and immune function. These studies define a biological basis for the interplay between environmental signals and the genome in the regulation of individual differences in behavior, cognition, and physiology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 LaSalle, Montréal, Québec, H4H 1R3, Canada

    Carine I. Parent

  2. Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Psychobiology of McGill University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute and the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, 6875 LaSalle, Montréal, Québec, H4H 1R3, Canada

    Tie-Yuan Zhang & Michael J. Meaney

Authors
  1. Carine I. Parent
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  2. Tie-Yuan Zhang
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  3. Michael J. Meaney
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Correspondence to Carine I. Parent .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Center for Metabolism and Epigenetics, University of California at Irvine, Sprague Hall 324, Irvine, 92697, California, USA

    Paolo Sassone Corsi

  2. Recherche Therapeutique, Fondation IPSEN pour la, quai George Gorse 65, Boulogne Billancourt Cedex, 92650, France

    Yves Christen

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Parent, C.I., Zhang, TY., Meaney, M.J. (2012). Epigenetics and the Environmental Regulation of Genomic Structure and Function: Implications for Health. In: Sassone Corsi, P., Christen, Y. (eds) Epigenetics, Brain and Behavior. Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27913-3_4

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