Epigenetic mechanisms may underlie the aetiology of sex differences in mental health risk and resilience.

In this review, we propose that experiential and hormonal influences on biological sex during development may produce differences in the epigenome, and that these differences play an important role in gating risk or resilience to a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. One intriguing hypothesis is that the framework belying sex differences in the brain creates differences in methylation and demethylation patterns, and these in turn confer risk and resilience to mental health disorders. Here, we discuss these concepts with regard to social behaviour in rodent models and briefly discuss their possible relevance to human disease.