ArticleTranslational psychiatry2023
Epigenetics of traumatic stress: The association of NR3C1 methylation and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom changes in response to narrative exposure therapy.
Article in Translational psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- S-adenosylmethionine as an epigenetic treatment of depression in adults with childhood trauma.Epigenomics · 2026Trial
- Longitudinal associations of DNA-methylation of OXT, SLC6A4 and NR3C1 genes with the treatment response in patients with depression.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Stress-induced epigenome changes as a risk factor in the onset of mental disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Epigenetic changes associated with multi-generational trauma: characterization, mechanisms, and therapeutics.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Changes in DNA Methylation Associated With Psychobehavioral Interventions: A Scoping Literature Review.Biological research for nursing · 2025Article
- Multilayered Epigenetic Analysis Identifies a Molecular Portrait for Psychological Resilience in Patients With Breast Cancer.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- Biomarker Correlations in PTSD: IL-18, IRE1, pERK, and ATF6 via Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS).International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- DNA Methylation in Long-Term Memory.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Review
- Experimental PTSD Models in Zebrafish: A Systematic Review of Behavioral, Neurochemical, and Molecular Outcomes.Biology · 2025Review
- Epigenetic Echoes: Bridging Nature, Nurture, and Healing Across Generations.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Time-varying mediation analysis for incomplete data with application to DNA methylation study for PTSD.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Implications of gene × environment interactions in post-traumatic stress disorder risk and treatment.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2025Review
- Molecular insights into trauma: A framework of epigenetic pathways to resilience through intervention.Med (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- Genetic Alterations in War-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review.Bulletin of emergency and trauma · 2025Review
- Reflections and perspectives on epigenetically mediated biological control: compromises in cancer and skeletal pathology.Academia biology · 2025Article
- Epigenetics of Chronic Stress: Mechanisms and Health Impacts.Current genomics · 2025Review
- Mechanisms of Epigenetic Inheritance in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Review
- Narrative-based autobiographical memory interventions for PTSD: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Review
- Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and learning and memory deficits in Neuroinflammatory diseases.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Epigenetic processes allow plasticity in gene regulation in response to significant environmental events. Accumulating evidence suggests that effective psychotherapy is accompanied by epigenetic changes, rendering DNA methylation a potential biomarker of therapy success. Due to the central role of glucocorticoid dynamics in stress regulation and the alteration of aversive memories, glucocorticoid receptors are likely involved in the molecular processes that are required to successfully treat Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between methylation at the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) and PTSD treatment success of evidence-based psychotherapy. A sample of N = 153 conflict survivors from Northern Uganda (98 females and 55 males) with PTSD were treated with Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET). Diagnostic interviews and saliva sampling took place at pretreatment and 4 and 10 months after treatment completion. We investigated potential associations between PTSD symptom development and methylation changes at 38 CpG sites spanning NR3C1 over the three times of measurement using the repeated measures correlation. After accounting for multiple comparisons, DNA methylation at CpG site cg25535999 remained negatively associated with PTSD symptoms. These results were followed up by mixed models as well as structural equation modelling. These analyses revealed that treatment responders had a significant cg25535999 methylation increase after treatment with NET. Furthermore, lower methylation at cg25535999 pretreatment predicted a higher symptom improvement. Our results suggest different epigenetic profile dynamics at NR3C1 cg25535999 in therapy responders compared to non-responders and underscore the central role of glucocorticoid signaling in trauma-focused therapy.
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