Chapter category: Gene Expression
Genomic Imprinting and Human Psychology: Cognition, Behavior and Pathology
Genomic Imprinting
Edited by: Jon F. WilkinsISBN: 978-0-387-77575-3
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «
Chapter authors:
Lisa M. Goos and Gillian Ragsdale
Imprinted genes expressed in the brain are numerous and it has become clear that they play an important role in nervous system development and function. The significant influence of genomic imprinting during development sets the stage for structural and physiological variations affecting psychological function and behaviour, as well as other physiological systems mediating health and well-being. However, our understanding of the role of imprinted genes in behaviour lags far behind our understanding of their roles in perinatal growth and development. Knowledge of genomic imprinting remains limited among behavioral scientists and clinicians and research regarding the influence of imprinted genes on normal cognitive processes and the most common forms of neuropathology has been limited to date. In this chapter, we will explore how knowledge of genomic imprinting can be used to inform our study of normal human cognitive and behavioral processes as well as their disruption. Behavioural analyses of rare imprinted disorders, such as Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes, provide insight regarding the phenotypic impact of imprinted genes in the brain, and can be used to guide the study of normal behaviour as well as more common but etiologically complex disorders such as ADHD and autism. Furthermore, hypotheses regarding the evolutionary development of imprinted genes can be used to derive predictions about their role in normal behavioural variation, such as that observed in food-related and social interactions.
Lisa M. Goos
The Hospital for Sick Children
Gillian Ragsdale
Additional chapters from this book:
Control of Imprinting at the Gnas Cluster
Jo Peters and Christine M. Williamson
Genomic imprinting is a form of epigenetic regulation in mammals whereby a small subset of genes is silenced according to parental origin. Early work had indicated regions of the genome that were like...
What Are Imprinted Genes Doing in the Brain?
William Davies, Anthony R. Isles, Trevor Humby and Lawrence S. Wilkinson
As evidence for the existence of brain-expressed imprinted genes accumulates, we need to address exactly what they are doing in this tissue, especially in terms of organisational themes and the major ...
Genomic Imprinting and Human Psychology: Cognition, Behavior and Pathology
Lisa M. Goos and Gillian Ragsdale
Imprinted genes expressed in the brain are numerous and it has become clear that they play an important role in nervous system development and function. The significant influence of genomic imprinting...
The GNAS locus and Pseudohypoparathyroidism
Murat Bastepe
Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is a disorder of end-organ resistance primarily affecting the actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Genetic defects associated with different forms of PHP involve the a-...
Imprinted Genes and Human Disease: An Evolutionary Perspective
Francisco Ubeda and Jon F. Wilkins
Imprinted genes have been associated with a wide range of diseases. Many of these diseases have symptoms that can be understood in the context of the evolutionary forces that favored imprinted express...
DNA Methylation Reprogramming in the Germ Line
Diane J. Lees-Murdock and Column P. Walsh
In mammals, methylation occurs almost exclusively on the CpG dinucleotide in DNA and shows no preference for sequence context surrounding this target. CpGs are found on many different sequence classes...
Genomic Imprinting in Plants
Olivier Garnier, Sylvia Laouielle-Duprat and Charles Spillane
Genomic imprinting attracted particular attention in the 1980s following the discovery that the parental origin of genetic information is essential for normal development of eutherians, for review see...
Imprinted Genes, Postnatal Adaptations and Enduring Effects on Energy Homeostasis
Margalida Frontera, Benjamin Dickins, Antonius Plagge and Gavin Kelsey
The effects of imprinted genes on fetal growth and development have been firmly established. By and large, their roles conform to a conflict over provision of limited maternal resources to offspring, ...
Evolutionary Theories of Imprinting--Enough Already!
Tom Moore and Walter Mills
In our view, the conflict theory of imprinting explains the evolution of parental allele-specific gene expression patterns in the somatic tissues of mammals and angiosperms. Not surprisingly, given it...
Immune Receptor Signaling, Aging and Autoimmunity
Anis Larbi, Tamas Fülöp and Graham Pawelec
Aging is associated with a myriad of changes including alterations in glucose metabolism, brain function, hormonal regulation, muscle homeostasis and the immune system. Aged individuals, generally sti...
