Catherine J. Peña

Early-life stress alters chromatin modifications in VTA to prime stress sensitivity

This study shows early-life stress alters chromatin modifications in the VTA, increasing stress sensitivity through changes in histone dynamics and Setd7 activity.

Altered postnatal chromatin development in the nucleus accumbens primes lifelong stress sensitivity

This study shows that increased H3K4me1 in the nucleus accumbens during early life primes lifelong stress sensitivity by altering chromatin structure and neuronal function.

Early life stress exposure alters brain vasculature transcriptomic profiles in areas regulating stress resilience

The paper investigates how early life stress alters brain vascular transcriptomic profiles in regions linked to stress resilience and finds sex- and region-specific changes in BBB gene expression.

Differential Methylation by Early Life Adversity in the Future of Families Child Wellbeing Study

The paper examines DNA methylation changes linked to early life adversity in the FFCWS cohort, finding specific, functional genomic regions associated with mental health disorders.

Agouti integrates environmental information to regulate natural variation in paternal behavior

The paper identifies Agouti as a molecular integrator of socio-environmental factors that influence paternal care in African striped mice.

Stress resilience is associated with transcriptional remodeling in the VTA

The paper identifies cell type-specific transcriptional changes in the VTA of resilient versus susceptible mice subjected to chronic stress, highlighting intercellular signaling and neural communication as key factors in resilience.

Data-driven analysis identifies female-specific social modulation deficit after chronic social defeat stress

The paper identifies female-specific deficits in social modulation after chronic stress using data-driven analysis and proposes a new metric for assessing resilience in female mice.

Thyroid hormones mediate the impact of early-life stress on ventral tegmental area gene expression and behavior

This study shows that early-life stress affects thyroid hormone signaling in mice, impacting ventral tegmental area gene expression and behavior, with potential for therapeutic intervention.

Reactivation of early-life stress-sensitive neuronal ensembles contributes to lifelong stress hypersensitivity

The paper shows that early-life stress sensitizes neurons in the nucleus accumbens to reactivate during adult stress, contributing to stress hypersensitivity.

Overlapping representations of food and social stimuli in VTA dopamine neurons

The paper shows that VTA dopamine neurons respond to both food and social stimuli, with overlapping populations and increased overlap under hunger or social experience.

Pain as a Trigger for Epigenetic Modifications in Limbic Circuitry

The paper investigates epigenetic modifications in limbic brain regions after chronic pain, finding reduced histone marks in some areas and associations with pain history and sensitivity.

Adolescent Social Isolation Reprograms the Medial Amygdala: Transcriptome and Sex Differences in Reward

The paper shows that adolescent social isolation causes sex-specific changes in the medial amygdala's transcriptome and behavior, with Crym playing a key role in these effects.

Early life stress alters transcriptomic patterning across reward circuitry in male and female mice

This study shows that early life stress alters transcriptomic patterns in reward circuitry of male and female mice, increasing sensitivity to adult stress.

Multi-OMIC analysis of brain and serum from chronically-stressed mice reveals network disruptions in purine metabolism, fatty acid beta-oxidation, and antioxidant activity that are reversed by antidepressant treatment

The paper analyzes multi-omic data from stressed mice to identify molecular disruptions linked to depression and shows antidepressants reverse these changes in specific brain regions.