Early childhood abuse might exert lifelong effects by altering a person's DNA and reducing levels of glucocorticoid receptors in the brain, which are important for responding to stress, Canadian scientists have found (McGowan PO et al. Nat Neurosci. 2009;12[3]:342-348).
The investigators examined brain tissue from 24 men who had committed suicide, half of whom had a history of childhood abuse, and from 12 men who had not been abused and died suddenly from other causes. Men with a history of abuse had lower levels of glucocorticoid receptors than did men who had not been abused or had not committed suicide. In addition, in those who had been abused, a snippet of “promoter” DNA that normally facilitates the production of glucocorticoid receptors had been silenced by the attachment of a methyl group.
The researchers noted the work confirms their previous findings from animal studies showing that adult rats that had been raised by neglectful mothers had similarly altered DNA, fewer glucocorticoid receptors, and an amplified physiological response to stress compared with attentively mothered rats.
Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
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