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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Dec 24;73:293–308. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.026

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1

Oxytocin Pathways of Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Early Life Stress (ELS) – A Conceptual Framework ELS, such as childhood abuse and neglect, is a major risk factor in the etiology of psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression) and impaired parenting. These maladaptive long-term effects may also impact the next generation via multiple, partly overlapping pre- and postnatal pathways, such as maternal depression during pregnancy and postpartum and impaired parent-offspring interactions. Central oxytocin (OT) pathways, which can be altered by ELS, are known to be involved in the modulation of parenting behaviors, attachment formation, pre- and postnatal depressive symptoms, as well as MPF stress physiology. Thus, OT pathways may play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of ELS in humans. Gene-environment interactions and epigenetic modifications in OT pathways genes may moderate or mediate the assumed pre- and postnatal transmission pathways.

Abbreviations: DNA: Desoxyribonucleic Acid; HPA-axis: Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis; MPF: Maternal-Placental-Fetal; OT: Oxytocin; Oxtr: Oxytocin Receptor Coding Gene.