Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with emotion processing in the infant brain
Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with emotion processing in the infant brain
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DOI：
10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100648
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发表时间：
2019-06-01
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Grossmann, Tobias
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Krol, Kathleen M.;Puglia, Meghan H.;Grossmann, Tobias
辨别情绪的神经能力在发育早期就出现了，尽管人们对导致婴儿时期这一重要技能变化的具体因素知之甚少。在成人中，催产素受体基因（OXTRm）的DNA甲基化是一种表观遗传修饰，它是可变的，可以预测基因表达，并且与自闭症谱系障碍和对社交线索的神经反应有关。目前尚不清楚OXTRm在婴儿中是否可变，以及它是否能预测早期社会功能。在大量婴儿样本（N = 98）中实施发育神经成像表观遗传学方法，我们检查了OXTRm是否与情绪表达的神经反应有关。在5个月大时评估OXTRm。在7个月大的时候，婴儿看到了快乐、愤怒和恐惧的面孔，同时记录了功能近红外光谱。我们观察到OXTRm在婴儿中表现出相当大的变异性。重要的是，OXTRm较高的婴儿在右下额叶皮层对愤怒和恐惧的反应增强，对快乐的反应减弱，该区域涉及通过行动-感知耦合进行情绪处理。研究结果支持强调催产素在调节情绪神经反应中的作用的模型，并确定OXTRm是一个有助于早期大脑功能的表观遗传标记。
The neural capacity to discriminate between emotions emerges early in development, though little is known about specific factors that contribute to variability in this vital skill during infancy. In adults, DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTRm) is an epigenetic modification that is variable, predictive of gene expression, and has been linked to autism spectrum disorder and the neural response to social cues. It is unknown whether OXTRm is variable in infants, and whether it is predictive of early social function. Implementing a developmental neuroimaging epigenetics approach in a large sample of infants (N = 98), we examined whether OXTRm is associated with neural responses to emotional expressions. OXTRm was assessed at 5 months of age. At 7 months of age, infants viewed happy, angry, and fearful faces while functional near-infrared spectroscopy was recorded. We observed that OXTRm shows considerable variability among infants. Critically, infants with higher OXTRm show enhanced responses to anger and fear and attenuated responses to happiness in right inferior frontal cortex, a region implicated in emotion processing through action-perception coupling. Findings support models emphasizing oxytocin's role in modulating neural response to emotion and identify OXTRm as an epigenetic mark contributing to early brain function.