Practical Application

Researchers of the mouse study found that a disruption in maternal care could trigger genetic changes that set the groundwork for depression in adulthood when confronted by periods of stress. It also suggested that the priming could be undone by appropriate intervention at the right time (although specifics were not provided). My brain’s opinion is that if you uncover your personal history in terms of what happened to you in childhood, especially related to disruption of maternal care, it may be possible to reduce one’s risk for adult stress-related depression. However, you only know what you know and can only do something about what you know. In my experience, Family-of-Origin work has been invaluable in helping me better understand early stressors in my life and take steps to develop valuable management strategies to minimize the occurrence of depression. More tomorrow.