Epigenetic changes brought about by perinatal stressors: a brief review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous studies employing various animal models have found that perinatal stress, encountered in utero during sensitive developmental stages or shortly after birth, disrupts both sexual differentiation and sexual behavior in offspring. The biochemical, cellular, genetic and epigenetic events which are involved in the organismal response to perinatal stress are currently under investigation. METHODS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In this review, the reader is introduced to perinatal stressors as a toxicological phenomenon, and several recently characterized epigenetic responses to said stressors are discussed.