Neuroepigenetics Mechanisms in Health and Disease
暫譯: 神經表觀遺傳學在健康與疾病中的機制

本書《神經表觀遺傳機制在健康與疾病中的作用》提供了對表觀遺傳控制機制的深入了解，重點關注神經生物學的分子、細胞和整合方面。在這裡，該領域的領先研究者在每一章中討論了重要的科學發現和最近在（神經）表觀遺傳學方面的進展。

雖然某些章節專注於概述基本的表觀遺傳機制和表觀基因組編輯的力量，但本書的其他部分則討論了學習和記憶過程中的表觀遺傳控制，以及與大腦相關的各種變化，包括神經退行性疾病、罕見神經疾病和精神疾病。此外，本書還涵蓋了現代人類社會的相關主題，包括藥物濫用、環境豐富化和冥想如何通過表觀遺傳機制影響大腦功能。本書旨在為初級科學家提供一個有用的資源，以便他們首次了解該主題，同時也為尋求更廣泛視野的經驗豐富的研究人員提供幫助，這些視野超出了他們的專業領域。

Dr. Brigitte van Zundert graduated as a Biochemist at the Hogeschool West-Brabant, The Netherlands in 1993, and subsequently obtained her Master's degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Utrecht in 1996, while conducting her thesis at the University of Massachusetts, focusing on transcriptional regulation. In 2002, Dr. Brigitte van Zundert earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Concepción (Chile), where she studied the molecular mechanisms underlying glycine receptor clustering at synapses. Following this, she completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical School. During her postdoctoral work, she focused on the role of synaptic glutamatergic receptors and their anchoring proteins in synapse development, as well as on characterizing early pathology in neonatal animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an adult neurodegenerative disease. In 2005, she established her independent laboratory in Chile at the University of Concepción and transitioned in 2010 to Andrés Bello University in Santiago, where she currently holds the position of Professor and Principal Investigator at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences. Since 2020, she is also serving as an Adjunct Professor at UMass Medical School, and since 2023 as the Director of the Millennium Nucleus in Neuroepigenetics and Plasticity, EpiNeuro. Dr. van Zundert's research investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving brain plasticity and neuroepigenetics, with a focus on learning and memory in healthy conditions, as well as the study of neurodegenerative diseases including ALS, frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease. More recently, her lab has begun to elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms by which external factors (e.g., urban air pollution) contribute to disease pathogenesis and cognitive deficits. The fundamental premise of her research is that the acquired knowledge will contribute to the development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies aimed at slowing disease progression and, more ambitiously, preventing, halting, or even reversing the devastating effects of neurodegenerative conditions.

Dr. Martin Montecino graduated as a biochemist from the University of Concepción, Chile, in 1989 and received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, USA, in 1996. He has been working in the field of epigenetic control of gene expression since he was a graduate student and later as an independent researcher at the University of Concepción in 1997, where he became Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2004. In 2010, he moved to the Andres Bello University, in Santiago, Chile, where he is currently Professor and Director of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Deputy Director of the Millennium Nucleus of Neuroepigenetics and Plasticity, EpiNeuro. Dr. Martin Montecino's research program is mainly concerned with the epigenetic mechanisms that mediate chromatin remodeling and transcriptional activity during lineage commitment in mammalian cells. Special attention has been devoted to studying these mechanisms during mesenchymal-osteoblastic differentiation, concentrating efforts on bone-specific genes that are regulated in response to extracellular stimuli, including vitamin D3 and BMP. In recent years, his research focus has also been directed towards defining the epigenetic mechanisms associated with the expression of critical genes during neural cell differentiation and function.

布里吉特·范·祖德博士於1993年在荷蘭西布拉班特應用科技大學（Hogeschool West-Brabant）獲得生物化學學位，並於1996年在烏特勒支大學獲得分子生物學碩士學位，期間在馬薩諸塞州大學進行論文研究，專注於轉錄調控。2002年，布里吉特·范·祖德博士在智利的康塞普西翁大學獲得分子與細胞生物學博士學位，研究突觸中甘氨酸受體聚集的分子機制。隨後，她在麻省理工學院（MIT）和哈佛醫學院完成了三年的博士後研究。在博士後期間，她專注於突觸谷氨酸受體及其錨定蛋白在突觸發展中的角色，以及在新生動物模型中表徵肌萎縮側索硬化症（ALS）早期病理，這是一種成人神經退行性疾病。2005年，她在智利的康塞普西翁大學建立了自己的獨立實驗室，並於2010年轉至聖地亞哥的安德烈斯·貝略大學，目前擔任生物醫學科學研究所的教授及首席研究員。自2020年以來，她還擔任馬薩諸塞州大學醫學院的兼任教授，並自2023年起擔任神經表觀遺傳學與可塑性千禧核心（Millennium Nucleus in Neuroepigenetics and Plasticity, EpiNeuro）主任。范·祖德博士的研究探討驅動大腦可塑性和神經表觀遺傳學的細胞和分子機制，重點研究健康狀況下的學習和記憶，以及包括ALS、額顳葉癡呆和阿茲海默症在內的神經退行性疾病的研究。最近，她的實驗室開始闡明外部因素（例如城市空氣污染）如何通過表觀遺傳機制促進疾病發病機制和認知缺陷。她研究的基本前提是，所獲得的知識將有助於開發有效的診斷和治療策略，旨在減緩疾病進展，更雄心勃勃地，預防、停止或甚至逆轉神經退行性疾病的破壞性影響。

馬丁·蒙特西諾博士於1989年在智利的康塞普西翁大學獲得生物化學學位，並於1996年在美國伍斯特的馬薩諸塞州大學醫學院獲得生物醫學科學博士學位。他自研究生時期以來便一直從事基因表達的表觀遺傳控制領域的工作，並於1997年成為康塞普西翁大學的獨立研究員，2004年成為生物化學與分子生物學教授。2010年，他轉至智利聖地亞哥的安德烈斯·貝略大學，目前擔任生物醫學科學研究所的教授及主任，以及神經表觀遺傳學與可塑性千禧核心（Millennium Nucleus of Neuroepigenetics and Plasticity, EpiNeuro）的副主任。馬丁·蒙特西諾博士的研究計劃主要關注在哺乳動物細胞中介導染色質重塑和轉錄活性的表觀遺傳機制。特別關注於研究這些機制在間充質-成骨細胞分化過程中的作用，集中精力於對外部刺激（包括維生素D3和BMP）反應的骨特異性基因的調控。近年來，他的研究重點也轉向定義與神經細胞分化和功能過程中關鍵基因表達相關的表觀遺傳機制。