We tend to turn our attention to the brain and its function only when certain problems start to appear. It could be when a child starts struggling at school, or an adult starts feeling lost in their own thoughts, or simply when behavior seems out of sync with what’s expected.

It is in moments like these that we start looking for patterns and explanations. Yet, a new research reveals that much of who we are may have been shaped long before any of these issues could be observed.

Well before we started to speak, our memory could stick, or a “sense of I” could be born, the roots of our thinking, feeling, and doing were being laid. To understand the mind may be, in part, to realize not only where it fails us now but also how the early pages of our lives, even before birth, begin to dictate what is to come.

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, are commonly talked about years after the onset of the first symptoms, whether it’s the struggle in school for the child with autism or the alterations in perception, thought, and social connection for the person with schizophrenia.

However, recent research is moving the onset of these disorders from years after birth to the first weeks in the womb.

Scientists at the University of Exeter have produced a list that explains the process of the chemical changes in our DNA and how they occur in the development and aging of the human brain. This has given us further insight into the possible ways in which autism and schizophrenia could be developing in the brain.

The scientists researched the process of something called epigenetic changes, which are basically chemical changes that occur in the DNA in our brain. These changes are very important in the development of the brain because they tell the brain cells what to do and help the different areas of the brain work correctly.

One of the changes the researchers focused on is something called DNA methylation. The researchers were able to study almost 1,000 human brains that were donated to the study. The study included all stages of life, from six weeks after conception until the age of 108. The researchers focused particularly on the cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls thinking, memory, perception, and behavior. It is very important that the cortex is functioning correctly from the early stages of brain development in order for the brain to be healthy throughout our lifetime.

A new study published in the journal Cell Genomics reveals that the chemical switches on our genes, known as DNA methylation, are in a state of flux even before we are born. These changes play a crucial role in the activation of crucial biological pathways in the development of the cortex of the brain. What’s even more intriguing is the fact that the development of the DNA methylation patterns in the neurons of the brain, which are the primary signaling cells of the brain, begins very early on in development and makes them stand out from the rest of the cells in the brain.

The most intriguing part of the study is the fact that the genes which are linked to autism and schizophrenia are subject to the greatest changes in DNA methylation patterns in the early stages of development. This shows that the development of the cortex of the brain is crucially dependent on these genes, and any interruption in the process could lead to the development of the aforementioned mental health disorders.

Alice Franklin, from the University of Exeter, who is first author on the study said: “By analysing how chemical changes to DNA shape the brain across the human lifespan, we’ve uncovered important clues about why neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and schizophrenia may develop. Our findings highlight that their roots may lie very early on in brain development.”

From the very beginning of a baby’s development, the brain develops a highly coordinated and well-timed blueprint to determine how different areas of the brain will develop and become connected. Before a baby even begins to think, act, or display personality, the outer layer of the brain, or the cortex, begins to develop in layers, with each cell having a purpose based on its position and timing of development. As it is obvious, even a small change during this time could have a great impact, as much of the rest of the development depends on this process.

At this point, it is not about behavior or personality; it is about developing the structure of the brain. The cells have to know where to go, when to multiply, and how to prepare to communicate with other parts of the brain. There are biological signals inside the body, and these signals are like instructions, ensuring everything develops in the correct sequence. If these instructions change even slightly, the structure of the entire brain could develop, but it could function differently later on.

Why Epigenetics Matters for Autism and Schizophrenia

While genetic research managed to identify a number of variants that are associated with autism and schizophrenia, these variants alone don’t answer the question of why some individuals develop these disorders and others don’t. In fact, many of the same genetic markers are also present at people who have never been diagnosed with autism or schizophrenia, which forced researchers to focus on epigenetics in order to get a better understanding of how genetic risks affect biology.

Essentially, epigenetics is the system that regulates the way in which genes behave without actually altering the DNA sequence itself. In the brain, these processes determine when and where particular genes are turned on, ensuring that brain development remains coordinated throughout the process of brain growth and change. Rather than simply turning genes on or off, epigenetics is like a dimmer switch, making subtle adjustments in the way in which genes behave. This influences the way in which brain systems initially develop and the way in which they respond later in life to experience, learning, and the environment.

In relation to autism and schizophrenia, epigenetics provides a way of thinking about a set of issues that is beyond the simple notion that they are inherited or “hard-wired.” It provides a way of thinking about how genetic vulnerabilities interact with the biological environment, not all at once, but over a period of time. This helps to explain why traits associated with autism and schizophrenia tend to emerge gradually, and why they vary so greatly from person to person.

Looking at something in this way helps to reinforce a non-deterministic approach to understanding risk. To say that you are vulnerable to something because of a biological factor does not mean that you are locked into a particular outcome, but rather that there are a number of possibilities.

The University of Exeter study in particular focuses in on the specifics of DNA methylation because it is one of the best understood and most researched of the epigenetic markers in the brain tissue of humans. By determining what the typical pattern of DNA methylation looks like at various stages of brain development, the researchers are in effect creating a sort of guide.

This allows future researchers to take a closer look at the regulation of genetic risk in the cortex, rather than the location of the risk itself. It also allows researchers to gain a deeper understanding of what goes wrong when the regulation does not occur in the expected manner.

It’s not difficult to misinterpret research findings that try to relate prenatal brain development to neurological differences that show up later in life. This is especially true when the research deals with conditions such as autism or schizophrenia, as these are already somewhat mysterious to most people. Therefore, the research suggests that people should try to read these findings in terms of what they show, rather than what they appear to suggest at first glance. The research suggests that early brain development seems to have an impact on later outcomes, as well as the fact that there’s a strong relationship between epigenetics and genes that have to do with autism or schizophrenia. This research helps to show that neurological differences begin early, though they do this slowly and in ways that change.

However, the study does not suggest that biology during early development controls the course of a person’s life.

There is no single epigenetic mark that would tell if a child would develop autism or schizophrenia. Prenatal factors are part of a much broader picture.

There is also great care taken by the researchers to address the concerns parents and caregivers might have when they read the results. It is only logical to wonder if there could be long-term effects from the experiences during pregnancy, but the researchers want to make it clear that the results are not about control or blame. Epigenetics is not about being certain; it is about being sensitive.

A generation of research on human development reveals that the brain remains malleable even after birth. The years of early childhood, in fact, represent a peak in malleability, influenced by care and learning opportunities, and the broader social world around us. From this point of view, prenatal biology provides the foundation for human development, but not the outcome.

The practical importance of this research, then, is not to improve prediction, but to inform our understanding and support. By appreciating the early vulnerabilities and the lifelong malleability, scientists are working to develop a more accurate and compassionate model of human neurodevelopment.

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