Research Suggests Childhood Trauma May Alter Gene Activity

Clinicians have known for a long time that childhood adversity shows up years later as mental and behavioral conditions. A study offers a mechanism among mice that identifies a molecular target that researchers say could eventually be treatable.

Specifically, stress in early life can physically change how brain cells package their DNA. This leaves stress-related genes easier to switch on later.

The Research Study

The team focused on the ventral tegmental area. This brain region contains neurons that make  dopamine to process feelings of rewards. When stress makes those neurons abnormally active, reward processing is disrupted in ways that raise vulnerability to anxiety and depression and drug risk.

The team focused on the ventral tegmental area. This brain region contains neurons that make dopamine to process feelings of rewards. When stress makes those neurons abnormally active, reward processing is disrupted in ways that raise vulnerability to anxiety and depression and drug risk.

Young mice exposed to stress had high levels of an enzyme called SETD7 in dopamine neurons when compared with mice raised in normal surroundings. SETD7 adds a chemical marker called H3K4me1 that encourages the packaging to open up.

Testing the Mechanism in Both Directions

The team artificially raised SETD7 in young mice that hadn’t experienced early stress and developmental trauma. These mice grew up with more open DNA structure in their dopamine neurons, reactive neurons and anxious behavior than those with normal SETD7 levels.

The team then did the opposite approach. Blocking SETD7 from adding excess H3K4me1 after early-life stress led the packaging to stay tightly closed to protect the mice. When these mice grew up, they remained similar to unstressed mice, with dopamine at normal levels.

This Matters for Co-Occurring Disorders

The study has direct relevance to dual diagnoses. More than 50% of children worldwide experience some form of early-life stress like abuse, violence or drug use at home. Four or more adverse events lead to much higher risks of physical and mental health problems later on.

Integrated treatment addresses both rather than sequentially because treating one while ignoring the other drives relapse. This study helps explain why the effects of childhood adversity can stay quiet for years and then surface in adulthood.

Treatment Approaches for Trauma and Dual Diagnosis

Trauma-informed behavioral health care remains top tier. Residential and outpatient behavioral treatment centers commonly use behavior therapy and trauma-focused approaches. Medication management for depression or substance use disorder is layered when needed.

Prevention is also vital. Supportive care or social resources delivered during sensitive developmental windows might protect the epigenome and give a developing brain a chance to build resilience on its own.

Start Care Today

Families researching care can benefit from these practical next steps:

• Search mental health treatment facilities and dual diagnosis programs by location and level of care.
• Ask whether a program treats co-occurring disorders in an integrated model.
• Confirm which trauma-focused therapies are offered and by whom.
• Verify insurance and Medicaid acceptance before admission.

Our completely browsable directory lists treatment centers nationwide and can be filtered by condition treated, level of care and whether a facility offers integrated dual diagnosis care.

You can also dial 800-908-4823 (Sponsored) for free and confidential guidance, 24 hours a day.

Author

Terri Beth Miller, PhD

Author, Award-Winning Post-Secondary Teacher

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Terri Beth received her PhD in English literature from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and is an educator and disability studies scholar. For more than a decade, she has written extensively in the fields of mental health and addiction recovery and fiercely advocates for the destigmatization of mental illness.

Editor

Peter Lee, PhD

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Peter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history during the Cold War. His primary focus is the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century. He has published widely on how the public has used popular culture as a mechanism to address political and social shifts throughout time