Lectures and seminars CMM Extra Seminar - Sex-specific epigenetic regulation in the brain: Implications for anxiety disorders and depression
Women are at twice the risk for anxiety and depression disorders as men are, although the underlying biological factors and mechanisms are largely unknown. In this talk, Dr. Kundakovic will address this sex disparity at both the etiological and mechanistic level. She will discuss the role of fluctuating ovarian hormones as a critical biological factor contributing to the increased depression and anxiety risk in women.
Cycling sex hormones drive brain and behavioral plasticity in both humans and rodents, and the talk will focus on animal studies in Dr. Kundakovic’s lab that are revealing the molecular and receptor mechanisms that underlie this female-specific brain dynamic. She will highlight a sex hormone-driven epigenetic mechanism, namely chromatin organizational changes, that dynamically regulates neuronal gene expression and brain plasticity but may also prime the (epi)genome for psychopathology. Dr. Kundakovic will also highlight an unconventional role that chromatin dynamics may have in regulating neuronal function across the ovarian cycle, including in sex hormone-driven X chromosome plasticity and hormonally-induced epigenetic priming. Finally, she will map out future directions including experimental and clinical studies that will facilitate novel sex- and gender-informed approaches to treat depression and anxiety disorders.
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Meeting ID: 678 5508 1472 Passcode: 295161
Related litterature
- Rocks D, Shukla M, Finnemann SC, Kalluchi A, Rowley MJ, Kundakovic M (2022). Sex-specific multi-level 3D genome dynamics in the mouse brain. Nature Commun. 13(1):3438.
- Kundakovic M and Rocks D (2022). Sex hormone fluctuation and increased female risk for depression and anxiety disorders: from clinical evidence to molecular mechanisms. Front Neuroendocrinol. Online ahead of print.
- Jaric I, Rocks D, Greally JM, Suzuki M, Kundakovic M (2019). Chromatin organization in the female mouse brain fluctuates across the oestrous cycle. Nat Commun 10(1):2851.