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5. Limited access to brain tissues in humans
difficulty identifying early-life adversity biomarkers
Past Research findings:
1. Early-life exposures are linked to epigenetic disruptions
2. BPA has been shown to disrupt neurodevelopment in both animals and humans
3. BDNF gene encoding brain-derived neurotrophic factor is essential in in
neurodevelopment
The main idea:
Develop series of assays to test whether the methylation of the BNDF gene could serve as biomarker for early
life adversity

7. Mice maintained in a caged environment- access to food, water, and normal light cycles
Variable group: treated with BPA in dissolved in corn oil
Control group: treated with only corn oil
Allowed to mate → mice that became pregnant were placed in a new cage for the gestation period

8. Day 1-6:
Mother-infant interactions monitored and maternal behavior was noted: Licking,
grooming, arched-back nursing
Day 28:
6 male and 6 female offspring were killed, whole brains extracted
gene expression of neurotrophic factors
DNA methylation in hippocampus
Day 60:
Object Recognition Test to Assess Behavior (Assessing Hippocampus)
assess the time it takes exploring object and its preference for novel object
whole brains and whole-blood samples:
Assess correlation between methylation in blood→ hippocampus

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