TITLE:
Epigenetics and Depression: A Rabbit Hole of Discovery
AUTHORS:
Raquel Pace, Renald Blundell
KEYWORDS:
Epigenetics, Depression, DNA Methylation, Histone Remodelling, Inheritance, Environment
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Genetics,
Vol.8 No.3,
September
30,
2018
ABSTRACT: “After this, there is no turning back. You take the
blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want
to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how
deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth.” Epigenetics
is a bit like the red pill—the more it is
researched the further down the rabbit hole we are going—the realisation that my choices today as my parents’ and grandparents’
choices yesterday influence who I am now and who I am going to be tomorrow.
Through the study of gene influencers, scientists are discovering that it is
not only the DNA that makes us but which portion of is selected for use that
tells us who we are. In the field of depression, epigenetics is still in its
infancy, nonetheless significant connections have been uncovered. This paper
gives a brief overview on epigenetics and the different mechanisms correlated
with it. It also discusses factors affecting an individual’s epigenetic
patterns and the effect of epigenetics itself. It specifically delves into the
epigenetic effects on psychiatry, mainly depression, depressive symptoms and
antidepressant treatments and the mediation of mechanism of action of the
epigenetic modifications involved.