Unseen Consequences: Research Linking Childhood Trauma & Epigenetics-View Presentation

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In this comprehensive webinar, Dr. Stacey Durie, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, explores the intricate connections between childhood trauma and epigenetics. Dr. Durie, from Boston Children's Hospital, delves into how early life adversities like trauma, abuse, and structural inequities embed themselves biologically, influencing health across generations. She emphasizes the interaction of genetic factors with environmental influences through mechanisms like DNA methylation, telomere length, and epigenetic clocks, impacting both mental and physical health outcomes.<br /><br />Dr. Durie highlights studies demonstrating that adversities lead to both immediate and intergenerational changes, notably through variations in stress response systems. Such studies underscore that early adverse exposures may increase risks for psychopathologies, metabolic, and aging-related diseases. Utilizing animal models and human studies, including epigenetic adaptations noticed across generations, she illustrates the profound biological ramifications of trauma.<br /><br />Moreover, she discusses methodologic challenges in epigenetic studies, stressing the need for large and diverse sample sizes and highlighting methods to pinpoint trauma-related epigenetic changes. Emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary approaches, Dr. Durie advocates for integrating therapeutic interventions that address not only mental health symptoms but also underlying biological traces, potentially preventing adverse health outcomes.<br /><br />Ultimately, Dr. Durie calls for further research to explore how treatments, including psychotherapy, might reverse trauma-related biological changes, thereby bridging the gap between the psychological and biological effects of childhood trauma and mental health treatments.

Keywords

childhood trauma

epigenetics

Dr. Stacey Durie

Boston Children's Hospital

DNA methylation

telomere length

epigenetic clocks

intergenerational changes

stress response systems

psychopathologies

therapeutic interventions

multidisciplinary approaches