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Epigenetic dynamics in infancy and the impact of maternal engagement.

ABSTRACT: The contribution of nature versus nurture to the development of human behavior has been debated for centuries. Here, we offer a piece to this complex puzzle by identifying the human endogenous oxytocin system-known for its critical role in mammalian sociality-as a system sensitive to its early environment and subject to epigenetic change. Recent animal work suggests that early parental care is associated with changes in DNA methylation of conserved regulatory sites within the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTRm). Through dyadic modeling of behavior and OXTRm status across the first year and a half of life, we translated these findings to 101 human mother-infant dyads. We show that OXTRm is dynamic in infancy and its change is predicted by maternal engagement and reflective of behavioral temperament. We provide evidence for an early window of environmental epigenetic regulation of the oxytocin system, facilitating the emergence of individual differences in human behavior.

SUBMITTER: Krol KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6795517 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Epigenetic dynamics in infancy and the impact of maternal engagement.

Krol Kathleen M KM Moulder Robert G RG Lillard Travis S TS Grossmann Tobias T Connelly Jessica J JJ

Science advances 20191016 10

The contribution of nature versus nurture to the development of human behavior has been debated for centuries. Here, we offer a piece to this complex puzzle by identifying the human endogenous oxytocin system-known for its critical role in mammalian sociality-as a system sensitive to its early environment and subject to epigenetic change. Recent animal work suggests that early parental care is associated with changes in DNA methylation of conserved regulatory sites within the oxytocin receptor g ...[more]

PMID: 31663028

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Ghana is among African countries not likely to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three (3) target of reducing maternal mortality to 70 per 100,000 live births by the year 2030 if maternal and child health services utilization are not improved. Community engagement in health is therefore advocated to help address this challenge. This study evaluated the impact of a community engagement intervention on maternal and child health services utilization in Ghana. METHODS:This study was a cluster randomised trial among primary healthcare facilities (n = 64) in the Greater Accra and Western regions in Ghana. Multivariate multiple regression analysis and paired-ttest were used to determine impact of the community engagement intervention on maternal and child health indicators at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS:Intervention health facilities recorded significant improvements over control facilities in terms of average spontaneous vaginal deliveries per month per health facility (baseline mean = 15, follow-up mean = 30, p = 0.0013); child immunizations (baseline mean = 270, follow-up mean = 455, p = 0.0642) and female condoms distribution (baseline mean = 0, follow-up mean = 2, p = 0.0628). Other improved indicators in intervention facilities were average number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) tests for non-pregnant women (baseline mean = 55, follow-up 104, p = 0.0213); HIV tests for pregnant women (baseline mean = 40, follow-up mean = 119, p = 0.0067) and malaria tests (baseline mean = 43, follow-up mean = 380, p = 0.0174). Control facilities however performed better than intervention facilities in terms of general laboratory tests, voluntary counselling and testing, treatment of sexually transmitted infections, male child circumcisions and other minor surgical procedures. CONCLUSION:Community engagement in health has the potential of improving utilization of maternal and child health services. There is the need for multi-stakeholder dialogues on complementing existing quality improvement interventions with community engagement strategies.

Dataset Information

Epigenetic dynamics in infancy and the impact of maternal engagement.

Publications

Epigenetic dynamics in infancy and the impact of maternal engagement.

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