What does it take to empathetically understand, to make a part of oneself, to grok an ACE score? The ACE effort was initiated in 1985 in an era before epigenetics was well-studied. Its artifacts included the ACE pyramid: The historical ACE lifespan continuum on the left began at conception. The pyramid on the right promoted … Continue reading Grokking an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score
A 2021 interview with McGill University’s Moshe Szyf: “There is a rejection of transgenerational inheritance as it goes against progressive thinking because it ties us to previous generations. The theory faces rejection because it sounds deterministic. But if you understand what epigenetics is, it’s not deterministic. There is stability, and there’s also room for dynamic … Continue reading The impact of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance and early life experiences
This 2018 German human study found: “DNA methylation in a biologically relevant region of NR3C1-1F [glucocorticoid receptor gene] moderates the specific direction of HPA-axis dysregulation (hypo- vs. hyperreactivity) in adults exposed to moderate-severe CT [childhood trauma]. In contrast, unexposed and mildly-moderately exposed individuals displayed moderately sized cortisol stress responses irrespective of NR3C1-1F DNA methylation. Contrary … Continue reading What will it take for childhood trauma research to change paradigms?
This 2018 Canadian paper reviewed evidence for potential sex-specific differences in the lasting impacts of childhood trauma: “This paper will provide a contextualized summary of neuroendocrine, neuroimaging, and behavioral epigenetic studies on biological sex differences contributing to internalizing psychopathology, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, among adults with a history of childhood abuse. Given the … Continue reading Sex-specific impacts of childhood trauma
This 2017 Georgia human review covered: “Recent studies, primarily focused on the findings from human studies, to indicate the role of DNA methylation in the associations between childhood adversity and cardiometabolic disease in adulthood. In particular, we focused on DNA methylation modifications in genes regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as the immune system.” Recommendations … Continue reading DNA methylation and childhood adversity
As an adult, what would be your primary concern if you suspected that your early life had something to do with current problems? Would you be interested in effective treatments for causes of your symptoms? Such information wasn’t available in this 2016 Miami review of the effects of child abuse. The review laid out the … Continue reading The current paradigm of child abuse limits pre-childhood causal research
This 2016 Georgia human study found: “A role for OXTR [oxytocin receptor gene] in understanding the influence of early environments on adult psychiatric symptoms. Data on 18 OXTR CpG sites, 44 single nucleotide polymorphisms, childhood abuse, and adult depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed in 393 African American adults. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), a … Continue reading A problematic study of oxytocin receptor gene methylation, childhood abuse, and psychiatric symptoms
What I found curious in this 2012 UK review of 82 studies was the reviewer’s reluctance to highly regard a human’s life before birth, during infancy, and in early childhood. There was no lack in 2012 of animal studies to draw from to inferentially hypothesize how a human fetal environment causes the fetus to adapt … Continue reading Problematic research: Feigning naivety of the impact of prenatal, infancy and early childhood experiences
This 2011 human study by the grandfather of hippocampus stress studies, Martin Teicher, quantified childhood maltreatment using the Adverse Childhood Experiences study and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores: “The strongest associations between maltreatment and volume were observed in the left CA2-CA3 and CA4-DG [dentate gyrus] subfields, and were not mediated by histories of major depression or … Continue reading Early emotional experiences change our brains: Childhood maltreatment is associated with reduced volume in the hippocampus
I’ve partially read these 39 studies and reviews, but haven’t taken time to curate them. Early Life Intergenerational Transmission of Cortical Sulcal Patterns from Mothers to their Children (not freely available) Differences in DNA Methylation Reprogramming Underlie the Sexual Dimorphism of Behavioral Disorder Caused by Prenatal Stress in Rats Maternal Diabetes Induces Immune Dysfunction in … Continue reading Clearing out the 2020 queue of interesting papers
While getting ready for bed tonight, I mused about how my younger brother had such an idealized postmortem view of our father. As he expressed six years ago in an obituary for our high school Literature teacher: “I’ll remember my favorite teacher and how much he’s meant to my life. My father and Martin Obrentz … Continue reading We believe what we need to believe
Continuing Dr. Arthur Janov’s May 2016 book Beyond Belief: “p. 61 Heavy pains with no place to go just pressures the cortex into concocting an idea commensurate with the feeling. The feeling itself makes no sense since the original feeling has no scene with it nor verbal capacity; it was laid down in a preverbal … Continue reading Beyond Belief: What we do instead of getting well
Continuing with Dr. Arthur Janov’s May 2016 book Beyond Belief: “p. 17 When someone insults us, we immediately create reasons and rationales for it. We cover the pain. Now imagine a whole early childhood of insults and assaults and how that leaves a legacy that must be dealt with. The mind of ideas and philosophies … Continue reading Beyond Belief: The impact of merciless beatings on beliefs
This 2016 New York human study found: “Measurement of salivary miRNA in this pilot study of subjects with mild ASD [autism spectrum disorder] demonstrated differential expression of 14 miRNAs that are: expressed in the developing brain, impact mRNAs related to brain development, and correlate with neurodevelopmental measures of adaptive behavior.” Some problems with current diagnostic … Continue reading Using salivary microRNA to diagnose autism
This 2015 Swiss human study’s Abstract began: “It is known that increased circulating glucocorticoids in the wake of excessive, chronic, repetitive stress increases anxiety and impairs Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) signaling.” The study had several statements that were unconvincingly supported by the study’s findings. One such statement in the Conclusions section was: “This study supports … Continue reading It is known: Are a study’s agendas more important than its evidence?
Surface Your Real Self 