Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms

Abstract

This paper reviews the research evidence concerning the intergenerational transmission of trauma effects and the possible role of epigenetic mechanisms in this transmission. Two broad categories of epigenetically mediated effects are highlighted. The first involves developmentally programmed effects. These can result from the influence of the offspring's early environmental exposures, including postnatal maternal care as well as in utero exposure reflecting maternal stress during pregnancy. The second includes epigenetic changes associated with a preconception trauma in parents that may affect the germline, and impact fetoplacental interactions. Several factors, such as sex-specific epigenetic effects following trauma exposure and parental developmental stage at the time of exposure, explain different effects of maternal and paternal trauma. The most compelling work to date has been done in animal models, where the opportunity for controlled designs enables clear interpretations of transmissible effects. Given the paucity of human studies and the methodological challenges in conducting such studies, it is not possible to attribute intergenerational effects in humans to a single set of biological or other determinants at this time. Elucidating the role of epigenetic mechanisms in intergenerational effects through prospective, multi-generational studies may ultimately yield a cogent understanding of how individual, cultural and societal experiences permeate our biology.

Traumatic stress and the autonomic brain‐gut connection in development: Polyvagal Theory as an integrative framework for psychosocial and gastrointestinal pathology

“…Genotypes may interact with environmental stressors and sources of support to contribute to a range of individual developmental trajectories (Ellis, Boyce, Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Van Ijzendoorn, 2011;Del Giudice, Ellis, & Shirtcliff, 2011). There is also growing evidence from animal models that stress or trauma may affect offspring through epigenetic mechanisms (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018) and research is also needed to examine these effects in humans and their relation to autonomic state regulation.…”

Intergenerational psychiatry: a new look at a powerful perspective

“…The second, intergenerational effects of trauma , considers the effects of parental exposure to trauma on psychiatric outcomes in the next generation. These studies have, for example, started to identify variation in stress regulation in children of Holocaust survivors as well as war veterans, independent of the children’s direct exposure to significant life stressors 4 .…”

Inaugural Editorial

“…Research on epigenetic changes in response to early life adversity indicates pathways between stress exposure and adult health and behavior disorders in animals as well as humans (Blaze & Roth, 2015;Gröger, Matas, Gos, Lesse, Poeggel et al, 2016;Lester, Conradt, & Marsit, 2016). Epigenetic changes also appear to be implicated in the transmission of adversity and their attending consequences across generations (Dias & Ressler, 2014;Franklin, Russig, Weiss, Gräff, Linder et al, 2010;Roth, Lubin, Funk, & Sweatt, 2009), as do harsh socioeconomic conditions (Ellis & Dietz, 2017) and historical trauma (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018). Of equal importance, recent research has also identified multiple neurobiological (Feldman, 2017) and behavioral (Lieberman, Padron, Van Horn, & Harris, 2005) processes that promote resilience, providing evidence for the biological basis for the love and care that is essential for human and other mammalian offspring to develop and thrive.…”