[neuro/psych] Fwd: "Methylation Matters", Epigenetics and Resilience to Trauma

[siderea]

I was looking for something else and just found this in Sept 1, 2010 Biological Psychiatry: Methylation Matters: Interaction Between Methylation Density and Serotonin Transporter Genotype Predicts Unresolved Loss or Trauma by M.H. van IJzendoorn (sic) et al. Background

Comments

[fabrisse]

As a layperson, I'm reading that as some people may be biologically more likely to have PTSD or other stress related illnesses specifically regarding attachment?

[livredor]

Hello, I have no background in psychology at all but I do work professionally with epigenetics. My understanding of the article is that it's saying something slightly different from that.

The article refers to earlier research showing that:
a) there are innate / genetic differences in how people respond to trauma, related to the expression of the serotonin transporter in their brains.
b) traumatic experiences can cause permanent marks on the relevant gene (methylation).

This article reports some new research showing that these two facts are not independent. The permanent gene marks caused by trauma will have different effects depending what the underlying genetic make-up was. Does this clarify?

[siderea]

To add the field-specific detail, iirc 5HTTLPR is the gene which famously more-or-less predicts strength of response to SSRIs as a treatment for depression.

While I have you here: I don't understand methylation, beyond "methyls stuck on DNA histones change gene expression" [fixed]. I would like to understand it to the same level I grasp protein synthesis -- a basic grasp of the mechanism; also, I'd like to have some knowledge of representative ways that environment changes methylations (examples of and their mechanisms). Is this information available anywhere? I mean, (1) is this known to science in the first place and (2) has anybody yet made a nice YouTube video or interpretive dance or TV science show episode about it yet

[livredor]

I think you're absolutely right that methylation / epigenetics are the sort of thing that an interested lay person ought to have a basic grasp of, like protein synthesis or DNA replication. Methyl groups can be stuck on either DNA or histones, though people do use "DNA methylation" a bit sloppily to refer to either case, so it's not surprising that it's a bit confusing.

A reasonably useful starting point is Epigenetics?, which has a bunch of one-page, fairly simple articles about the most important discoveries in epigenetics in the past 3 or 4 years. It's not very groovy, it's a bit earnest and EU-ish, but it's fairly accessible and does link to the original papers. I think it would be good at telling you what questions you should be asking, allowing you to use your considerable research skills to find the information with the level and format you want. And just an expert-provided list of what's significant in the field is a very good start IMO. This article on abuse and methylation should point you to the kind of stuff you want to