Cited by 161Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumBirth, Development, and HealthChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Prenatal influences on temperament development: the role of environmental epigenetics

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Gartstein, Maria A., Skinner, Michael K.·2018·Development and Psychopathology

Abstract

This review summarizes current knowledge and outlines future directions relevant to questions concerning environmental epigenetics and the processes that contribute to temperament development. Links between prenatal adversity, epigenetic programming, and early manifestations of temperament are important in their own right, also informing our understanding of biological foundations for social–emotional development. In addition, infant temperament attributes represent key etiological factors in the onset of developmental psychopathology, and studies elucidating their prenatal foundations expand our understanding of developmental origins of health and disease. Prenatal adversity can take many forms, and this overview is focused on the environmental effects of stress, toxicants, substance use/psychotropic medication, and nutrition. Dysregulation associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity–disruptive disorders was noted in the context of maternal substance use and toxicant exposures during gestation, as well as stress. Although these links can be made based on the existing literature, currently few studies directly connect environmental influences, epigenetic programming, and changes in brain development/behavior. The chain of events starting with environmental inputs and resulting in alterations to gene expression, physiology, and behavior of the organism is driven by epigenetics. Epigenetics provides the molecular mechanism of how environmental factors impact development and subsequent health and disease, including early brain and temperament development.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0954579417001730

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  • Maternal smoking in pregnancy is associated with epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, implicated in deleterious changes to gene expression and processes related to growth and development.

    “Maternal smoking in pregnancy has also been associated with epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, that are implicated in deleterious changes to gene expression and processes related to growth and development”

    From Prenatal nicotine exposure during pregnancy results in adverse neurodevelopmental alterations and neurobehavioral deficits (2023) · cites this paper as [48]

    In §III, “Substance Use and Effects of Psychotropic Medication” (page unavailable), the paper reports DNA methylation differences associated with prenatal tobacco exposure. It discusses methylation-mediated gene-expression and developmental changes for prenatal substance exposure more generally, but does not establish that the tobacco-associated methylation changes cause deleterious changes to gene expression or growth and development; it says their clinical significance remains uncertain. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  1. Rueda MR 2012 Effortful control Shiner MZRL Handbook of temperament 145 161 New York, NY The Guildford Press

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Authors
Gartstein, M. A., & Skinner, M. K.
Affiliations
Washington State University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Gartstein, Maria A.
  • Skinner, Michael K.
Venue
Development and Psychopathology
Published
2017-12-12
Volume
30
Issue
4
Pages
1269-1303
ISSN
  • 0954-5794 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-2198
OpenAlex
W2773730878
Cited by
161
References
263
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 6
FWCI
3.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Development and Psychopathology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • John Templeton Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES012974)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
prenatal influences, infant temperament, environmental epigenetics, epigenetic programming, prenatal adversity, maternal stress, toxic exposure, maternal substance use, prenatal nutrition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, developmental origins of health and disease, social-emotional development, early brain development
MeSH terms
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child Development, Female, Humans, Infant, Learning, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Temperament, Epigenesis, Genetic

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