Biomedical research in the first decade of the 21st century has been marked by a rapidly growing interest in epigenetics. The reasons for this are numerous, but primarily it stems from the mounting realization that research programs focused solely on DNA sequence variation, despite their breadth and depth, areunlikely to address all fundamental aspects of human biology. Some questions are evident even to non-biologists. How does a single zygote develop into a complex multicellular organism composed of dozens of different tissues and hundreds of cell types, all genetically identical but performing very different functions? Why do monozygotic twins, despite their stunning external similarities, often exhibit significant differences in personality and predisposition to disease? If environmental factors are solely the cause of such variation, why are similar differences also observed between genetically identical animals housed in a uniform environment? Over the last couple of decades, epigenetics hasundergone a significant metamorphosis from an abstract developmental theory to a very dynamic and rapidly developing branch of molecular biology. This volume represents a compilation of our current understanding about the key aspectsof epigenetic processes in the brain and their role in behavior. The chaptersin this book bring together some of the leading researchers in the field of behavioral epigenetics. They explore many of the epigenetic processes which operate or may be operating to mediate neurobiological functions in the brain anddescribe how perturbations to these systems may play a key role in mediating behavior and the origin of brain diseases. Art Petronis' and Jon Mill's research is dedicated to the understanding ofthe role of epigenetic risk factors in complex diseases. Epigenetic processescan explain some of the epidemiological associations between environmental exposure and disease, particularly when the exposure occurs at a critical developmental stage. Epigenetics, a cellular mechanism once considered to be stable after development, has now been found to be a dynamic process that occurs in fully differentiated, post-mitotic cells of central nervous system in response to environmental signals. INDICE: Preface.- 1. Post-translational histone modifications and the neurobiology of psychosis. 2. Epigenetic regulation of GABAergic targets in psychiatry. 3. Possible roles of DNA methylation in bipolar disorder. 4. The epigenetics of depression and suicide. 5. Epidemiology research and epigenetics: Translational epidemiology of schizophrenia.- 6. Environmental studies as a tool for detecting epigenetic mechanisms in schizophrenia.- 7. Imprinting, inactivation and the behavioural genetics of the X-chromosome.- 8. The strategies of the genes: genomic conflicts, attachment theory and development of the social brain. 9. Genomic imprinting effects on brain and behavior; future directions. 10. Epigenetic influence of the social environment. 11. Towards an understanding of the dynamic inter-dependence of genes and environment in the regulation of phenotype. Nurturing our epigenetic nature.- 12. Histone deacetylase inhibitors: a novel therapeutic approach for cognitive disorders.- 13. Epigenetic mechanisms of memory consolidation.- 14. Epigenetic mechanisms in memory formation. Subject index.
- ISBN: 978-3-642-17425-4
- Editorial: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Páginas: 335
- Fecha Publicación: 01/05/2011
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés