ERIC Number: EJ1089315
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Serotonin Transporter Gene ("SLC6A4") Methylation Associates with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Stay and 3-month-old Temperament in Preterm Infants
Montirosso, Rosario; Provenzi, Livio; Fumagalli, Monica; Sirgiovanni, Ida; Giorda, Roberto; Pozzoli, Uberto; Beri, Silvana; Menozzi, Giorgia; Tronick, Ed; Morandi, Francesco; Mosca, Fabio; Borgatti, Renato
Child Development, v87 n1 p38-48 Jan-Feb 2016
Preterm birth and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay are early adverse stressful experiences, which may result in an altered temperamental profile. The serotonin transporter gene ("SLC6A4"), which has been linked to infant temperament, is susceptible to epigenetic regulation associated with early stressful experience. This study examined a moderation model in which the exposure to NICU-related stress and "SLC6A4" methylation moderated infant temperament at 3 months of age. "SLC6A4" methylation at 20 CpG sites was quantified in preterm infants (N = 48) and full-term infants (N = 30) from Italian middle-class families. Results suggested that in preterm infants NICU-related stress might be associated with alterations of serotonergic tone as a consequence of "SLC6A4" methylation, which in turn, might associate with temperamental difficulties assessed at 3 months of age.
Descriptors: Genetics, Premature Infants, Stress Variables, Models, Hospitals, Neonates, Personality Traits, Comparative Analysis, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A