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Abstract:
Psychological trauma is considered to be a risk factor for the
development of a number of psychiatric disorders. Although 40-90 % of
the population is exposed to a traumatic event in their lifetime, only a
small fraction of individuals will develop a disorder. In recent years,
numerous studies described epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation,
histone modifications and non-coding RNA as potential biological
mechanisms by which the environment can have long-term effects on an
organism.
This article reviews the accumulating evidence for the involvement of
epigenetic factors in the development of psychiatric disorders
associated with psychological trauma. Clinically the review focuses on
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for which trauma is a diagnostic
criterion. In this context, we specifically focus on studies that show
trauma and disease-associated epigenetic changes in humans and animal
models. Both tissue-specific as well as cross-tissue effects have been
described and underline the global consequences of psychological trauma
on the whole organism. In addition, possible epigenetic mechanisms are
presented which could be responsible for the long-lasting effects of
gene-environment interactions in psychiatric disorders. Finally, the
review addresses how a better understanding of these epigenetic
mechanisms could suggest avenues for possible future pharmacological and
psychotherapeutic treatment approaches.
