Molecular Psychiatry最新文献

{"title":"A single-cell genomic atlas for the effects of chronic ethanol exposure in the mouse dorsal striatum","authors":"Erin Wildermuth, Michael S. Patton, Marcia Cortes-Gutierrez, Zeal Jinwala, Benjamin H. Grissom, Rianne R. Campbell, Henry R. Kranzler, Mary Kay Lobo, Seth A. Ament, Brian N. Mathur","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-03014-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03014-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by compulsive drinking, which is thought to be mediated by effects of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure on the dorsal striatum, the input nucleus of the basal ganglia. Despite significant efforts to understand the impact of ethanol on the dorsal striatum, the rich diversity of striatal cell types and multitude of ethanol targets expressed by them necessitates an unbiased, discovery-based approach. In this study, we used single-nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq; <i>n</i> = 86,715 cells) to examine the impact of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure on the dorsal striatum in C57BL/6 male and female mice. We detected 462 differentially expressed genes at FDR &lt; 0.05, the majority of which were mapped to spiny projection neurons (SPNs), the most prominent cell type in the striatum. Gene co-expression network analysis and functional annotation of differentially expressed genes revealed down-regulation of postsynaptic intracellular signaling cascades in SPNs. Inflammation-related genes were down-regulated across many neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. Gene set enrichment analyses also pointed to altered states of rare cell types, including the induction of angiogenesis-related genes in vascular cells. A gene module down-regulated specifically in canonical SPNs was enriched for calcium-signaling genes and components of glutamatergic synapses, as well as for genes associated with genetic risk for AUD. Genetic perturbations of six of this module’s hub genes – <i>Foxp1</i>, <i>Bcl11b</i>, <i>Pde10a</i>, <i>Rarb, Rgs9</i>, and <i>Itgr1</i> – had causal effects on its expression in the mouse striatum and/or on the broader set of differentially expressed genes in alcohol-exposed mice. These data provide important clues as to the impact of ethanol on striatal biology and provide a key resource for future investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143841362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neocortical tau propagation is a mediator of clinical heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s disease","authors":"Anjalika Chongtham, Aarthi Ramakrishnan, Marissa Farinas, Diede W. M. Broekaart, Joon Ho Seo, Carolyn W. Zhu, Mary Sano, Li Shen, Ana C. Pereira","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-02998-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-02998-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Heterogeneity in progression of clinical dementia obstructs the general therapeutic potential of current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Though the mechanisms of this heterogeneity remain unclear, the characterization of bioactive tau species and factors that regulate their seeding behavior might give valuable insight as pathological tau is well correlated with cognitive impairment. Here, we conducted an innovative investigation into the molecular basis of widespread, connectivity-based tau propagation that begins in the inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and spreads to neocortical areas such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Biochemical analysis of human postmortem ITG and PFC tissues revealed individual variability in tau seeding, which correlated with cognitive decline, particularly in the ITG, a region known for promoting accelerated tau propagation. Notably, this study presents the first evidence that site-specific phosphorylation and isoform composition of both aggregation-prone high-molecular-weight (HMW) tau and the relatively unexplored, yet potentially crucial in AD progression low-molecular-weight (LMW) tau significantly contribute to tau propagation and cognitive decline. Our findings underscore the importance of comprehensively considering diverse tau forms including both HMW and LMW tau species in understanding AD progression. Additionally, these results are the first to identify distinct morphological strains within the AD brain associated with differing seeding propensity, potentially enabling patient stratification based on their tau profile. Furthermore, RNA-seq analyses of gene expression patterns in the ITG revealed molecular heterogeneity associated with tau seeding potential. Patients with higher levels of seed-competent tau displayed greater impairments in synaptic and neural plasticity, and increased neuroinflammation. This multidisciplinary study offers novel insights into various molecular mechanisms driving AD progression, suggesting potential molecular targets for early intervention and improved patient subtyping, which is critical for developing precision medicine approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Harnessing neuroimaging-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation for precision therapy in substance use disorders","authors":"Smita Sahay, Madhu Vishnu Sankar Reddy Rami Reddy, Charlotte Lennox, Emma Wolinsky, Robert E. McCullumsmith, Tanvir Singh","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-03024-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03024-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a critical public health challenge characterized by high relapse rates, with existing treatments often proving inadequate. The focus of this review is to provide an update on the current state of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a therapeutic intervention for SUDs and discuss neuroimaging-guided TMS practices. This review explores the neurobiology underlying SUDs, emphasizing the roles of the prefrontal cortex, striatal circuits, and dopaminergic pathways, and examines the theory that TMS modulates neurocircuitry to impact addiction-related behaviors. We discuss TMS procedural aspects and provide a comparative analysis of TMS protocols, focusing on repetitive, deep, single-pulse, paired-pulse, and a more recent approach, theta burst stimulation. We review recent randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to demonstrate reductions in cravings and use across SUDs as well as highlight the need for standardized protocols. We emphasize the power of combining neuroimaging techniques to show functional connectivity changes in the brain and identify potential biomarkers predictive of SUD treatment response, an unexplored area of discussion. With these topics, this review highlights the potential of TMS as a versatile and effective therapeutic modality for SUDs, especially when combined with neuroimaging. Key findings emphasize the necessity for future research to address methodological challenges, such as standardizing protocols and optimizing stimulation parameters. The integration of neuroimaging provides insights into functional connectivity changes, enabling enhanced precision and individualized treatment strategies. By validating TMS approaches and incorporating multimodal techniques, this field can advance toward a more robust clinical utility in addressing the complex neurocircuitry of addiction-related behaviors underlying SUDs.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143841363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Targeted splicing approach for alleviation of a neurexin 1 haploinsufficiency model","authors":"Hong Lu, Kyle M. Roddick, Yuan Ge, Long Zuo, Peng Zhang, Olivia Lam, Klara Marsh, Rachel O. L. Wong, Richard E. Brown, Ann Marie Craig","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-03017-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03017-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>NRXN1</i> encoding the synaptic organizing protein neurexin 1 (Nrxn1) is among the strongest risk genes for autism spectrum disorders as well as other neuropsychiatric disorders. The most common contributing mutation is a deletion in one allele. While mice lacking one form of the protein, Nrxn1α, have been characterized, information is lacking on animal models with heterozygous deletion of all isoforms, as well as on therapeutic approaches directly targeting Nrxn1. We report that <i>Nrxn1</i>^<i>+/−</i> mice with a deletion affecting all isoforms, α, β and γ, show deficits in excitatory synaptic transmission affecting presynaptic and postsynaptic properties at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses, and show increased repetitive behaviors. Based on previous studies indicating that exclusion of the insert at Nrxn1 splice site 5 (S5) boosts synaptic transmission, we tested S5 exclusion as a therapeutic approach. Genetic exclusion of S5 in the remaining <i>Nrxn1</i> allele alleviated the deficits, restoring miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency, paired pulse ratio, AMPA/NMDA ratio, and repetitive behaviors to wild type levels and partially restoring Nrxn1 protein level in <i>Nrxn1</i>^{<i>ΔS5/-</i>} compared to <i>Nrxn1</i>^<i>+/−</i> mice. These data suggest that S5 exclusion may be a beneficial therapeutic direction in cases of neuropsychiatric disorders involving <i>NRXN1</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143832131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population-level individualized prospective prediction of opioid overdose using machine learning","authors":"Yang S. Liu, Derek V. Pierce, Dan Metes, Yipeng Song, Lawrence Kiyang, Mengzhe Wang, Kathryn Dong, Dean T. Eurich, Scott Patten, Russell Greiner, Yanbo Zhang, Jake Hayward, Andrew Greenshaw, Bo Cao","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-02992-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-02992-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The opioid overdose epidemic has rapidly expanded in North America, with rates accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. No existing study has demonstrated prospective opioid overdose at a population level. This study aimed to develop and validate a population-level individualized prospective prediction model of opioid overdose (OpOD) using machine learning (ML) and de-identified provincial administrative health data. The OpOD prediction model was based on a cohort of approximately 4 million people in 2017 to predict OpOD cases in 2018 and was subsequently tested on cohort data from 2018, 2019, and 2020 to predict OpOD cases in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. The model’s predictive performance, including balanced accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (AUC), was evaluated, achieving a balanced accuracy of 83.7, 81.6, and 85.0% in each respective year. The leading predictors for OpOD, which were derived from health care utilization variables documented by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and physician billing claims, were treatment encounters for drug or alcohol use, depression, neurotic/anxiety/obsessive-compulsive disorder, and superficial skin injury. The main contribution of our study is to demonstrate that ML-based individualized OpOD prediction using existing population-level data can provide accurate prediction of future OpOD cases in the whole population and may have the potential to inform targeted interventions and policy planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143832439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neuroimaging-derived biological brain age and its associations with glial reactivity and synaptic dysfunction cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers","authors":"Irene Cumplido-Mayoral, Gonzalo Sánchez-Benavides, Natalia Vilor-Tejedor, David López-Martos, Anna Brugulat-Serrat, Marta Milà-Alomà, Carles Falcon, Raffaele Cacciaglia, Carolina Minguillón, Karine Fauria, Gwendlyn Kollmorgen, Clara Quijano-Rubio, José Luis Molinuevo, Oriol Grau-Rivera, Marc Suárez-Calvet, Verónica Vilaplana, Juan Domingo Gispert","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-02961-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-02961-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI)-derived brain-age prediction is a promising biomarker of biological brain aging. Accelerated brain aging has been found in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. However, no previous studies have investigated the relationship between specific pathophysiological pathways in AD and biological brain aging. Here, we studied whether glial reactivity and synaptic dysfunction are associated with biological brain aging in the earliest stages of the Alzheimer’s <i>continuum</i>, and if these mechanisms are differently associated with AD-related cortical atrophy. We further evaluated their effects on cognitive decline. We included 380 cognitively unimpaired individuals from the ALFA+ study, for which we computed their brain-age deltas by subtracting chronological age from their brain age predicted by machine learning algorithms. We studied the cross-sectional linear associations between brain-age delta and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of synaptic dysfunction (neurogranin, GAP43, synaptotagmin-1, SNAP25, and α-synuclein), glial reactivity (sTREM2, YKL-40, GFAP, and S100b) and inflammation (interleukin-6). We also studied the cross-sectional linear associations between AD signature and these CSF biomarkers, We further evaluated the mechanisms linking baseline brain-age delta and longitudinal cognitive decline by performing mediation analyses. To reproduce our findings on an independent cohort, we included 152 cognitively unimpaired and 310 mild cognitive impaired (MCI) individuals from the ADNI study. We found that higher CSF sTREM2 was associated with a younger brain-age after adjusting for AD pathology, both in ALFA+ cognitively unimpaired and in ADNI MCI individuals. Furthermore, we found that CSF sTREM2 fully mediated the link between older brain-age and cognitive decline in ALFA+. In summary, we showed that the protective microglial state reflected by higher CSF sTREM2 has a beneficial impact on biological brain aging that may partly explains the variability in cognitive decline in early AD stages, independently of AD pathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"108 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143822628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transdiagnostic types of formal thought disorder and their association with gray matter brain structure: a model-based cluster analytic approach","authors":"Frederike Stein, Anna Merle Gudjons, Katharina Brosch, Luca Mira Keunecke, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Lea Teutenberg, Florian Thomas-Odenthal, Paula Usemann, Hanna Wersching, Adrian Wroblewski, Kira Flinkenflügel, Janik Goltermann, Dominik Grotegerd, Susanne Meinert, Katharina Thiel, Alexandra Winter, Nina Alexander, Tim Hahn, Hamidreza Jamalabadi, Andreas Jansen, Axel Krug, Igor Nenadić, Benjamin Straube, Udo Dannlowski, Tilo Kircher","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-03009-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03009-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Formal thought disorder (FTD) is a complex syndrome affecting language and thought processes in psychotic and affective disorders. Clustering (i.e., identification of data-driven clinical subtypes) establishes latent (sub-) structures into psychopathological syndromes. A latent profile analysis (LPA) of FTD symptoms was conducted in 1 032 patients diagnosed with Schizophrenia-Spectrum-Disorders (n = 107), Major Depressive (n = 800), and Bipolar Disorder (n = 125). Clusters were compared for cognition and psychopathology. Associations with gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical surface (gyrification, cortical complexity, sucal depth) were explored using T1-weighted MRI data, analyzed with CAT12. Robustness-analyses in an age- and sex-matched subsample (n = 321) with the same n for each diagnosis (n = 107) were applied. LPA revealed 4 transdiagnostic clusters: <i>minimal</i> FTD, <i>poverty</i>, <i>inhibition</i>, <i>severe</i> FTD that remained stable in an age- and sex-matched subsample and in each diagnosis separately. Patients exhibiting <i>severe</i> FTD compared to <i>minimal</i> FTD showed GMV reductions in the right superior and middle frontal gyri. <i>Inhibition</i> showed a GMV reduction in the right inferior and middle temporal gyri, and fusiform gyrus compared with <i>minimal</i> and <i>severe</i> FTD. Sulcal depth was reduced around the left insula, superior temporal sulcus and temporal pole in the <i>poverty</i> cluster, and in the bilateral insula in the <i>severe</i> cluster, both compared to the <i>inhibition</i> cluster. No results for cortical thickness, gyrification, and complexity were found. Results from the total sample could be replicated in the matched subsample. Our results unravel the clinical heterogeneity of FTD psychopathology across affective and psychotic disorders. Associations of FTD clusters with neuroanatomical substrates imply language-related brain structures being involved in thought and language impairment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143819002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Erasing “bad memories”: reversing aberrant synaptic plasticity as therapy for neurological and psychiatric disorders","authors":"Zhuoyue Shi, Kailong Wen, Nabilah H. Sammudin, Nicholas LoRocco, Xiaoxi Zhuang","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-03013-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03013-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Dopamine modulates corticostriatal plasticity in both the direct and indirect pathways of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) loops. These gradual changes in corticostriatal synaptic strengths produce long-lasting changes in behavioral responses. Under normal conditions, these mechanisms enable the selection of the most appropriate responses while inhibiting others. However, under dysregulated dopamine conditions, including a lack of dopamine release or dopamine signaling, these mechanisms could lead to the selection of maladaptive responses and/or the inhibition of appropriate responses in an experience-dependent and task-specific manner. In this review, we propose that preventing or reversing such maladaptive synaptic strengths and erasing such aberrant “memories” could be a disease-modifying therapeutic strategy for many neurological and psychiatric disorders. We review evidence from Parkinson’s disease, drug-induced parkinsonism, L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorders, and depression as well as research findings on animal disease models. Altogether, these studies allude to an emerging theme in translational neuroscience and promising new directions for therapy development. Specifically, we propose that combining pharmacotherapy with behavioral therapy or with deep brain stimulation (DBS) could potentially cause desired changes in specific neural circuits. If successful, one important advantage of correcting aberrant synaptic plasticity is long-lasting therapeutic effects even after treatment has ended. We will also discuss the potential molecular targets for these therapeutic approaches, including the cAMP pathway, proteins involved in synaptic plasticity as well as pathways involved in new protein synthesis. We place special emphasis on RNA binding proteins and epitranscriptomic mechanisms, as they represent a new frontier with the distinct advantage of rapidly and simultaneously altering the synthesis of many proteins locally.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"69 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143819003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aberrant personal space is associated with paranoia, altered stress regulation, and unfavourable outcomes at 6 months’ follow-up in schizophrenia","authors":"Adamantini Hatzipanayioti, Sebastian Walther, Nicole Gangl, Frauke Conring, Florian Wüthrich, Katharina Stegmayer","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-02999-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-02999-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Paranoia is a central feature of schizophrenia and linked with poor outcomes. Paranoid experience is sometimes hard to identify in the clinical interview. In contrast, personal space (PS) measures detected patients with paranoia with excellent sensitivity and specificity. Here we test whether we can substantiate aberrant PS regulation in paranoia and whether PS was associated with stress markers and longitudinal outcomes. We included 144 participants (92 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 52 age and sex-matched healthy controls). We measured PS and stress markers during two behavioural tasks on interpersonal distance. In addition, we assessed social outcomes at baseline and after 6 months. Data corroborated that paranoia increased PS. Moreover, we confirmed that PS detected paranoia with excellent sensitivity (92%) at 1.1 m, and severe paranoia with 87% sensitivity and 81% specificity at 1.6 m. In addition, stress (Electrodermal activity) during the PS task was associated with paranoia and PS. Furthermore, higher stress at baseline predicted less improvement of social outcome after 6 months. Finally, improvement of PS over 6 months was associated with improvement of social functioning. PS may indeed serve as a simple bedside test for paranoia. Furthermore, results have direct implications in clinical practice as they suggest that it is advisable to maintain increased PS with paranoid patients. In addition, altered stress regulation and persistently increased PS may indicate unfavourable outcomes in the short-term follow-up. Thus, patients with persistently increased PS may benefit from special therapeutic attention.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143813525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linked emergence of racial disparities in mental health and epigenetic biological aging across childhood and adolescence","authors":"Muna Aikins, Yayouk Willems, Deniz Fraemke, Colter Mitchell, Bridget Goosby, Laurel Raffington","doi":"10.1038/s41380-025-03010-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03010-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Marginalization due to structural racism may confer an increased risk for aging-related diseases – in part – via effects on people’s mental health. Here we leverage a prospective birth cohort study to examine whether the emergence of racial disparities in mental health and DNA-methylation measures of biological aging (<i>i.e</i>., DunedinPACE, GrimAge Acceleration, PhenoAge Acceleration) are linked across childhood and adolescence. We further consider to what extent racial disparities are statistically accounted for by perinatal and postnatal factors in preregistered analyses of 4898 participants from the Future of Families &amp; Child Wellbeing Study, of which 2039 had repeated saliva DNA methylation at ages 9 and 15 years. We find that racially marginalized children had higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behaviors and diverging longitudinal internalizing slopes. Black compared to White identifying children, children living in more racially segregated neighborhoods, and racially marginalized children more affected by colorism tended to have higher age-9 levels of biological aging and more biological age acceleration over adolescence. Notably, longitudinal increases in internalizing and externalizing behavior were correlated with increases in biological aging. While racial and ethnic disparities in mental health were largely statistically accounted for by socioeconomic variables, differences in biological aging were often still visible after including potential mediating variables. These findings underscore the urgency for future research to consider biological aging processes from early life and collect more comprehensive measures of structural racism in developmental cohorts. Programs dedicated to advancing racial health equity must address the psychological and physical effects of structural racism on children and adolescents.</p>","PeriodicalId":19008,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Psychiatry","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143813595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}