Anxiety study shows genes are not fixed: Experience and exposure can change them

"Adolescence is an important period of growth," said Subhash C. Pandey, Ph.D., professor and director of the Alcohol Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This is when the brain is maturing, and consistent epigenetic programing occurs. This is also a period when binge drinking is prevalent. Adolescent binge drinking can disrupt epigenetic programing in key brain regions by changing certain key molecular targets within the epigenome."

Pandey explained that early life exposure to alcohol can have not only long-lasting effects on brain chemistry but also induce a predisposition to psychiatric problems such as alcohol abuse and anxiety disorders. "Anxiety disorder is highly comorbid with alcoholism," he said, "and adolescent alcohol exposure can lead to the development of high anxiety and alcohol intake in adulthood." Pandey will elaborate on these findings at the RSA meeting on June 25.

"More specifically, our data indicate that the enzymes histone deacetylases and demethylases -- which are responsible for the regulation of histone acetylation and methylation -- are altered in adulthood due to previous adolescent alcohol exposure. This alteration causes specific genes involved in regulating synaptic events to become suppressed, leading to high anxiety and high alcohol drinking behavior." In other words, adolescent alcohol exposure can change the architecture where certain genes reside, and thus modify how the genes perform.

"In short," said Pandey, "epigenetic reprogramming in the brain due to early life experiences or exposure to alcohol can lead to the changes in gene functions and predispose an individual to adult psychopathology."