Epigenetic influences and brain development

Abstract

In recent years, the amount of scientific data on the involvement of epigenetic processes in the regulation of brain development in postnatal ontogenesis has been rapidly growing. The article provides an overview of scientific research on the mechanisms of epigenetic influences on brain development. Information was searched in the Scopus, Web of Science, MedLine, The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Pedro, Scholar, eLibrary, CyberLeninka and RSCI databases for the period 1940-2022 by keywords: brain development, epigenetics, neuroontogenesis, methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, non-coding RNAs. Today, the mechanisms of epigenetic influence on the genome include DNA and RNA methylation, covalent modification of histones, chromatin remodeling, and the influence of non-coding RNAs. Epigenetic modifications are often reversible and provide the necessary plasticity for the response of progenitor cells to environmental signals. The influence of each of these factors on the neurodevelopment is considered. The possibility of transsynaptic transmission of hereditary material by means of circular RNA is indicated. The main ways of microRNA influence on brain development are presented and their universality as an «overgenic» regulator of organism adaptation to external conditions is indicated. Data on the relationship of long non-coding RNAs with the regulation of the functional activity of oligodendroglia are presented. Also, the data presented indicate the paths to the pathogenetically determined prevention of congenital brain pathology.