Whilst the link to breastfeeding and early newborn treatment isn't
highlighted in this report, I think the relevancy to lack of
breastfeeding and/or 'baby training' techniques will not be lost of us.
(In other words, I think this is relevant to Lact-Net!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7901337.stm

Child abuse 'alters stress gene'

*Abuse in early childhood permanently alters how the brain reacts to
stress, a Canadian study suggests. *

Analysis of brain tissue from adults who had committed suicide found key
genetic changes in those who had suffered abuse as a child.

It affects the production of a receptor known to be involved in stress
responses, the researchers said.

The Nature Neuroscience study underpins the impact of stress on early
brain development, experts said.

Previous research has shown that abuse in childhood is associated with
an increased reaction to stressful circumstances.

But exactly how environmental factors interact with genes and contribute
to depression or other mental disorders in adulthood is not well
understood.

A research team led by McGill University, in Montreal, examined the gene
for the glucocorticoid receptor - which helps control the response to
stress - in a specific brain region of 12 suicide victims with a history
of child abuse and 12 suicide victims who did not suffer abuse when
younger.

They found chemical changes which reduced the activity of the gene in
those who suffered child abuse.

And they showed this reduced activity leads to fewer glucocorticoid
receptors.

Those affected would have had an abnormally heightened response to
stress, the researchers said.

*Long-term *

It suggests that experience in childhood when the brain is developing,
can have a long-term impact on how someone responds to stressful
situations.

But study leader Professor Michael Meaney said they believe these
biochemical effects could also occur later in life.

"If you're a public health individual or a child psychologist you could
say this shows you nothing you didn't already know.

"But until you show the biological process, many people in government
and policy-makers are reluctant to believe it's real.

"Beyond that, you could ask whether a drug could reverse these effects
and that's a possibility."

Dr Jonathan Mill, from the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College
London said the research added to growing evidence that environmental
factors can alter the expression of genes - a process known as epigenetics.

"Whilst these results obviously need to be replicated, they provide a
mechanism by which experiences early in life can have an effect on
behaviour later in adulthood.

"The exciting thing about epigenetic alterations is that they are
potentially reversible, and thus perhaps a future target for therapeutic
intervention."

Morgan Gallagher



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