Developmental Consequences of Early Life Adversity

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

The project will investigate the pathways by which early adversity affects outcomes later in life. Investigators will examine whether and how negative consequences of early adversity may be transmitted across generations. The project will enhance basic understanding of the epigenetic processes by which early adversity generates negative developmental consequences, and it will expand knowledge about the potential for such epigenetic changes to be transmitted interegenerationally. The ultimate goal, and broader impact, is to shed new light on underlying mechanisms of transmission, in order to inspire new policy approaches aimed at reducing, and potentially reversing, long-term deleterious effects of early life adversity. Exposure to environmental factors can get under one's skin and alter how one's genes function. There is growing interest in how changes in gene functionality may account for the association between early adversity and later outcomes. Moreover, little is known about whether those changes in functionality can be reversed or whether they can be transmitted across generations. Using pre-existing data on health and behavioral outcomes as well as pre-existing biological/genetic samples obtained from multiple generations of differentially reared macaques, investigators will explore mechanisms and developmental processes involved in linking early adversity to subsequent outcomes later in life. The goals are to examine the developmental consequences of early adversity and underlying epigenetic mechanisms; and to test the intergenerational transmission of adversity. Because macaques share 93% of their genome with humans, the study will help clarify how early life adversity affects later outcomes in humans. The methylation profile of DNA will be analyzed, and RNA will be extracted in order to examine gene expression. Investigators will conduct bioinformatics analyses to assess biological characteristics of differentially expressed gene sets. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.