Shariful Syed and Charles Nemeroff (2017) study titled Early Life Stress, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders describes both long-term and short-term effects of early stress on human physiology and some of the factors which contribute to this condition among children including child abuse and neglect among others. According to the article, the human psychology has depicted major effects both peripherally and in the central nervous system. Early Life Stress (ELS) has been linked to the rising number of psychiatric disorders including bipolar disorder, major depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Due to rise in such cases, the subject of early life experiences and effects it has on the future life of an individual has received major attention from researchers and scholar trying to identify the primary factors contributing to negative early life experiences (Syed, & Nemeroff, 2017).
Findings from Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative which was proposed by National Institute of Mental Health to assess constraints of behavioral functions and discrete domains used dimensional approach to identify neural circuits. Some of the initial domains identified in these findings included a cognitive system, positive variance, negative variances including sustained threats, anxiety and acute threat, social processes and arousal systems (Syed, & Nemeroff, 2017). Each construct was taken through cells, circuit, modules, genes, behaviors, paradigms self-reports and others. The study found out that within each domain there were constructs which are correlated substantially using hallmark features of psychiatric disorders including negative variance PSTD.
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When HPA axis including circuit and genes, were compared with early life stress, the study findings indicated that genes found in a patient with PSTD symptoms after a traumatic event are linked with self-reported history from a childhood trauma. The SNP experiences, in this case, are associated with the alteration of genes which determine fear discrimination and fear learning (Syed, & Nemeroff, 2017). On the other hand, effects of early life stress on brain circuits were found to be an alteration of connectivity between PFC and amygdala and also, there is a general agreement that there is a significant association between depression and severity of the events which bring stress in life during the human early life.
On the other hand, an article by Kertes et al (2017) BNDF methylation in mothers and newborns is associated with maternal exposure to war trauma intended to describe how BNDF gene codes which is a neurotrophic factor derived from a growth factor which is included in the synaptic plasticity, cell differentiation, and development of neural. According to the study, BDNF has prevalent effects on development. However, there are no published reports that can be used to offer evidence on exposure to prenatal depressive symptoms on traumatic stress experienced during maternal or even BDNF gene methylation. The article claims that the sequence and structure of BDNIF gene are complex, even though it tends to be conserved across species. The study indicated that human gene has eleven axons of which nine contain promoters which is responsible for regulation of expression.
Also, BDNF is also controlled by numerous transcription factors and by intercellular signaling ways which are associated with binding of certain receptors (Kertes et al., 2017). The receptors are essential in the formation of placental during a prenatal period where it facilitates proliferation, the necessary survival for fetal growth and migration among others. The study target population was mothers and newborns from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where 24 mothers and newborn were involved during the study. The region was included in the study due to its extreme conflicts and violence to women especially during prenatal period causing chronic stress and war trauma which are highly associated with BDNF. The association takes place in the umbilical cord blood, maternal venous blood, and placental tissues. The study results indicated that there is an association between the maternal stress and hence tissue specificity because of BDNF methylation (Kertes et al., 2017).
Reflection
Although the researchers of the two studies wanted to close a gap which existed on the effects of early childhood stress on the human being, there are several weaknesses in both articles. For example, the two articles did not try to demonstrate how circulating glucocorticoids impairs BDNF during the chronic, excessive and repetitive stress. Additionally, the article failed to propose solutions for maternal care which will reduce Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factors methylation in the adult blood (Syed, & Nemeroff, 2017). Therefore, unless studies are conducted to determine ways of preventing the maternal depression which has the ability to change patterns related to brain activation, the negative consequences associated with BDNF methylation and gene depression will continue occurring in the brain and impact several sections. However, the article failed to highlight where there are other factors apart from BDNF methylation which can present complex dynamic characteristics with a huge impact on physiologic alterations, inflammatory changes or even deregulation of hypothalamic-pituitary axis apart during the early life.
Criticism
Kertes et al. (2017) article BNDF methylation in mothers and newborns is associated with maternal exposure to war trauma conclusion did not create a phenomenon that future researchers can use to increase the evidence on the importance of considering the epigenetic impact of the stress and trauma before birth and also for adults. However, being the first research study to examine BDNF methylation and its relation to prenatal exposure, the study has made an important contribution to the continued efforts to understand some of the effects of depression and trauma during the prenatal period. The article also talks about the implications of BDNF methylation, and it continues to associate this process with issues such as aggressiveness, fear memory formation, expression in memory and learning, and anxiety live behaviors (Kertes et al., 2017). Additionally, the paper claims that human being alters their BDNF intentionally, due to stress-related mood, anxiety disorders and through neurodevelopment activities. However, the article has presented some of the signs that can be used to predict birth complications including higher maternal blood and lower levels of blood in the cord and which are because of lower levels of BDNF which are believed to have a major association with prematurity and some case lower gestational age.
On the other hand, Shariful Syed and Charles Nemeroff (2017) article Early Life Stress, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders has failed to offer concrete evidence through results and conclusion. The issue of BDNF methylation and early life stress is a critical subject which needs adequate evidence so that health professionals and other researchers can use the evidence as a foundation in developing a solution for some of the mental disorders associated with the process. Therefore, researchers would have offered a conclusion and recommendation so that other researchers can pick from where they stopped. However, l Syed and Nemeroff managed to make an essential discovery where they stated that the continued elucidation of pathophysiological mechanism is one of the factors contributing to the contemporary medicine and it may end up becoming a major reason as to why psychiatry advancements have not been achieved resulting to this are lagging behind (Syed, & Nemeroff, 2017).
Conclusion
From a review of both articles, we can conclude that BDNF methylation in the placenta can be affected by stress and trauma hence altering different patterns in human brain. Due to this alteration, human being ends up experiences difficulty in the certain process including aggressiveness, fear memory formation, expression in memory and learning, and anxiety live behaviors which are highly associated with mental health. Even though the two articles have contributed a huge amount of evidence on BDNF and its effect on human mental health, there is a huge gap in this are including finding ways pregnant mothers living in war zones can reduce effects of war trauma and stress (Syed, & Nemeroff, 2017).
References
Kertes, D. A., Bhatt, S. S., Kamin, H. S., Hughes, D. A., Rodney, N. C., & Mulligan, C. J. (2017). BNDF methylation in mothers and newborns is associated with maternal exposure to war trauma. Clinical Epigenetics , 9 (1), 68.
Syed, S. A., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2017). Early Life Stress, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders. Chronic Stress , 1 , 2470547017694461.
