ArticleSocial cognitive and affective neuroscience2016
Maternal adversities during pregnancy and cord blood oxytocin receptor (OXTR) DNA methylation.
Article in Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- DNA methylation studies of depression with onset in the peripartum: A critical systematic review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Pooled it
- The role of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) DNA methylation (DNAm) in human social and emotional functioning: a systematic narrative review.BMC psychiatry · 2018Pooled it
- Stress During Pregnancy and Epigenetic Modifications to Offspring DNA: A Systematic Review of Associations and Implications for Preterm Birth.The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursingPooled it
- An epigenetic framework for understanding contextual influences on neural and socio-emotional development: Narrative review and case-study of the oxytocin receptor.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Review
- Exploring the relationship betweenFrontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Before pregnancy trauma primes oxytocin receptor expression in placenta during superstorm sandy.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Neonatal Procedural Pain Disrupts Phosphorylation of KCC2 in the Spinal Cord.Developmental neurobiology · 2025Article
- Internalizing and Externalizing Traits During Adolescence: Using Epigenetics and Perinatal Risks to Differentiate Clusters of Symptoms.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Role of sexually dimorphic oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus on maternal behavior.Peptides · 2024Review
- Maternal outcomes related to Genetic and epigenetic Variation in the oxytocin system: A scoping review.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- Intertwined associations between oxytocin, immune system and major depressive disorder.Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2023Review
- Associations of Prenatal Chemical and Nonchemical Stressors with Early-Adulthood Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- Oxytocin receptor DNA methylation is associated with exogenous oxytocin needs during parturition and postpartum hemorrhage.Communications medicine · 2023Article
- Maternal distress, DNA methylation, and fetal programing of stress physiology in Brazilian mother-infant pairs.Developmental psychobiology · 2023Article
- Skewed fate and hematopoiesis of CD34iScience · 2022Article
- Evaluating Methylation of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene and the Oxytocin Intergenic Region.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2022Article
- An epigenetic rheostat of experience: DNA methylation ofComprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2021Review
- Human-Animal Interaction and Perinatal Mental Health: A Narrative Review of Selected Literature and Call for Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Article
- Associations between childhood maltreatment and DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene in immune cells of mother-newborn dyads.Translational psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal adversities and cortisol levels during pregnancy predict cord blood DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR). We collected cord blood of 39 babies born to mothers participating in a cross-sectional study (N = 100) conducted in Basel, Switzerland (2007-10). Mothers completed the Inventory of Life Events (second trimester: T2), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, third trimester: T3), the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS-K, 1-3 weeks postpartum) and provided saliva samples (T2, T3) for maternal cortisol profiles, as computed by the area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) or increase (AUCi) for the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and for diurnal cortisol profiles (DAY). OXTR DNA methylation was quantified using Sequenom EpiTYPER. The number of stressful life events (P = 0.032), EPDS score (P = 0.007) and cortisol AUCgs at T2 (CAR: P = 0.020; DAY: P = 0.024) were negatively associated with OXTR DNA methylation. Our findings suggest that distinct prenatal adversities predict decreased DNA methylation in a gene that is relevant for childbirth, maternal behavior and wellbeing of mother and offspring. If a reduced OXTR methylation increases OXTR expression, our findings could suggest an epigenetic adaptation to an adverse early environment.
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