Epigenetics of the developing and aging brain: Mechanisms that regulate onset and outcomes of brain reorganization

•Early epigenetic perturbations predispose the brain towards certain health outcomes.•One-carbon metabolism impacts brain development and aging in a sex specific manner.•The HPG axis impacts health outcomes in both males and females throughout life. Brain development is a life-long process that enco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2021-06, Vol.125, p.503-516
Main Authors: Bacon, Eliza R., Brinton, Roberta Diaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging - genetics
Andropause
B-vitamins
Brain
DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic
Epigenetics
Epigenomics
Estrogen
Female
Histone modification
Humans
Menopause
Neurodegeneration
Neurodevelopmental
One-carbon metabolism
Perimenopause
Pregnancy
Puberty
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Summary:•Early epigenetic perturbations predispose the brain towards certain health outcomes.•One-carbon metabolism impacts brain development and aging in a sex specific manner.•The HPG axis impacts health outcomes in both males and females throughout life. Brain development is a life-long process that encompasses several critical periods of transition, during which significant cognitive changes occur. Embryonic development, puberty, and reproductive senescence are all periods of transition that are hypersensitive to environmental factors. Rather than isolated episodes, each transition builds upon the last and is influenced by consequential changes that occur in the transition before it. Epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, provide mechanisms by which early events can influence development, cognition, and health outcomes. For example, parental environment influences imprinting patterns in gamete cells, which ultimately impacts gene expression in the embryo which may result in hypersensitivity to poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy, raising the risks for cognitive impairment later in life. This review explores how epigenetics induce and regulate critical periods, and also discusses how early environmental interactions prime a system towards a particular health outcome and influence susceptibility to disease or cognitive impairment throughout life.
ISSN:0149-7634
1873-7528
DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.040