PSYC23H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Marinus Van Ijzendoorn, Child Abuse, Methylation
Document Summary
1/3 of canadians have suffered child abuse (34%: girls are 3x exposed to sexual abuse vs. boys, includes physical, sexual abuse, and exposure to intimate partner violence. Reduction in : left hippocampus (in adults only) The effects are gradual thus, prominent in adulthood. Childhood abuse, suicide, and epigenetics : measured hippocampus (number of stress receptors) across controls, suicide non-abused, and suicide abused. Mcgowan et al. , 2008: suicide abused had fewer stress receptors = disregulation of hpa methylation. More methylation = less stress receptors (due to epigenetics) by silencing the expression of the stress receptor gene: less negative feedback less stress receptors too much methylation. Child abuse, antisocial behavior, genetics : there is a mutation in monoamine oxidase a (maoa): gene that codes for an enzyme that metabolizes. Caspi et al. , 2002 neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, and epinephrine) and renders them inactive: genetic deficiencies in this gene and low activity in maoa linked to aggression in mice and men.
