Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Epigenetics

Dr Jacob Peedicayil completed MBBS in 1984 and MD in pharmacology in 1991, both at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. From 1993 to 1995 he did a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. From 1995 to 1998 he worked as a Research Fellow in the Department of Neurological Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore. Since 1998 he has been on the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, becoming a professor in 2007. He does theoretical research on epigenetics, focusing on epigenetics in psychiatry. In addition, he is involved in experimental research in smooth muscle pharmacology.Dr Dennis R. Grayson received his PhD from the Department of Biochemistry at Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1984. He has been interested in mechanisms associated with gene expression for over 35 years. He joined the laboratory of Dr James E. Darnell at the Rockefeller University as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in 1984 to study cell-type specific transcription factors and their interaction with promoters and enhancers. In 1988, Dr Grayson joined the Fidia-Georgetown Institute for the Neurosciences at Georgetown University to study gene expression programs in neurons and continued this research program at Allegheny Singer Research Institute
in Pittsburgh from 1995 to 1998. He continued his interests in psychiatry and joined the Psychiatric Institute at the University of Illinois in 1998. This represented a unique opportunity to pursue the molecular underpinnings of schizophrenia. Dr Grayson has received NRSA post-doctoral support, and R01 and K04 funding from the National Institutes of Health to support his work. He has published over 140 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is regularly invited to speak at numerous national and international meetings. He is currently Director of the Epigenetic Core of the Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics.

Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Epigenetics is a comprehensive reference for the epigenetic basis of most common neuropsychiatric disorders. The volume is organized into chapters representing individual neuropsychiatric disorders, from addition to obesity contributed by leading experts in their respective fields. The epigenetic aspects of each disorder are discussed, in the context of the full range of epigenetic mechanisms including DNA modification, histone post-translational modification, chromatin organization and non-coding RNA. A particular emphasis is placed on potential epigenetic interventions, when the effects of environmental stimuli on epigenetic states is particularly relevant o disease.

Recent discoveries in epigenetic research enabled by epic advances in genomic technologies have positioned the field for broad translation to therapeutic interventions for previously unmanageable disorders Neuropsychiatric disorders represent a prime target of epigenetic interventions as they are highly debilitating, often chronic diseases with enormous costs to society. Thus, this volume will help define epigenetics as a key player in neuropsychiatric disorders, highlighting the full spectrum of epigenetic mechanisms underlying such disorders and introducing the vast range of epigenetic therapies under development.

Preface Dag H. Yasui, Jacob Peedicayil and Dennis R. Grayson

Section I. Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Epigenetics: General Aspects 1. Introduction to Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Epigenetics Dag H. Yasui, Jacob Peedicayil and Dennis R. Grayson

2. Environmental Factors and Epigenetics of Neuropsychiatric Disorders Anke Hoffmann and Dietmar Spengler

3. Epigenetic Biomarkers in Neuropsychiatric Disorders Chin-Chuen Lin, Tiao-Lai Huang

Section II: Epigenetics of Neuropsychiatric Disorders 4. Epigenetics and Cognitive Disorders -Translational Aspects Fabio Coppedè

5. Epigenetics in Pervasive Developmental Disorders - Translational Aspects Takeo Kubota

6. Epigenetic causes of intellectual disability - the fragile X syndrome paradigm Elisabetta Tabolacci, Giovanni Neri

7. Epigenetics of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Nader Perroud, Sébastien Weibel, Jean-Michel Aubry, Alexandre Dayer

8. The epigenetics of brain aging and psychiatric disorders Huan Gong, Xiangru Xu

9. Epigenetic therapy may alleviate cognitive deficits in Down syndrome by downregulating overexpressed chromosome 21 gene products Alain D. Dekker, Peter P. De Deyn and Marianne G. Rots

10. Epigenetics and Multiple Sclerosis Lara Kular, Gonçalo Castelo-Branco and Maja Jagodic

11. Epigenetics and Migraine Siew Hua Gan and Munvar Miya Shaik

12. The role of epigenetics in the pathophysiology of epilepsy Sung Min Nam and Kyung-Ok Cho

13. Epigenetic Dysregulation in Brain Tumors and Neurodevelopment Marco M. Hefti and Nadejda Tsankova

14. Epigenetics and Cerebrovascular Diseases Carolina Soriano-Tárraga, Jordi Jiménez-Conde and Jaume Roquer

15. Epigenetics and Eating Disorders Helge Frieling, Vanessa Buchholz

16. Epigenetics in Obesity Brian M. Shewchuk

17. Epigenetics and Drug Addiction-Translational Aspects Jian Feng

18. Epigenetics and Alcohol Use Disorders Sneha Sagarkar and Amul Sakharkar

Section III: Summary and Outlook 19. Summary and Outlook Dag H. Yasui, Jacob Peedicayil and Dennis R. Grayson