| Abstract | 第4-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第7-13页 |
| Content | 第13-15页 |
| Abbreviations | 第15-18页 |
| Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION | 第18-22页 |
| 1.1 Background | 第18-19页 |
| 1.2 Statement of the Problem | 第19-20页 |
| 1.3 Aim of the Study | 第20页 |
| 1.4 Objectives | 第20页 |
| 1.5 Significance of the Study | 第20页 |
| 1.6 Definition of Terminologies | 第20页 |
| 1.7 Organization of Work | 第20-22页 |
| Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW | 第22-43页 |
| 2.1 What is Major Depressive Disorder? | 第22页 |
| 2.2 The Importance of Genetics in Depression | 第22-23页 |
| 2.3 What is Epigenetics? | 第23-25页 |
| 2.4 Mechanisms of Epigenetic Regulation in the Genome | 第25-26页 |
| 2.5 How does Early Life Adversity shape the HPA Axis? | 第26页 |
| 2.6 The Basic Anatomy of the HPA Axis | 第26-28页 |
| 2.7 Creating a Model for Early Life Experiences | 第28-32页 |
| 2.8 Defining DNA Methylation Status of the Glucocorticoid Receptor | 第32-33页 |
| 2.9 Role of the CpG Islands in the DNA Methylation | 第33页 |
| 2.10 Structure of the NR3C1 Gene | 第33-40页 |
| 2.11 What is Childhood Trauma? | 第40-43页 |
| Chapter 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS | 第43-54页 |
| 3.1 Study Population | 第43-44页 |
| 3.1.1 Setting | 第43页 |
| 3.1.2 Participants | 第43页 |
| 3.1.3 Inclusion Criteria | 第43-44页 |
| 3.1.4 Exclusion Criteria | 第44页 |
| 3.1.5 Sample size | 第44页 |
| 3.2 Methods | 第44-53页 |
| 3.2.1 Study Design | 第44页 |
| 3.2.2 Interviewing Techniques | 第44-45页 |
| 3.2.3 Instrument for Data Collection | 第45页 |
| 3.2.4 Measures | 第45-46页 |
| 3.2.5 Blood Samples | 第46-47页 |
| 3.2.6 Identification of the Glucocorticoid Receptor Promoter Exon IF and 13CpG Islands | 第47-48页 |
| 3.2.7 NR3C1 Promoter Methylation Sequencing | 第48页 |
| 3.2.8 Procedure for DNA Analysis and Identification of the 13 CpG Islands in thePromoter Region Exon IF | 第48-53页 |
| 3.3 Data Analysis | 第53-54页 |
| Chapter 4 RESULTS | 第54-69页 |
| 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Participants | 第54-60页 |
| 4.1.1 Distribution of Study Groups | 第54页 |
| 4.1.2 Expressions of the Study Groups using the Child Trauma Questionnaire | 第54页 |
| 4.1.3 Demographics and Clinical Characteristics of Participants (n=60) | 第54-56页 |
| 4.1.4 The Distribution of the Participants based on Gender | 第56页 |
| 4.1.5 Distribution of Subjects based on Age | 第56-57页 |
| 4.1.6 Family History of Participants With or Without Mental Disease | 第57-58页 |
| 4.1.7 Distribution of Participants According to Medication History | 第58页 |
| 4.1.8 CTQ scores and Distribution Healthy Controls | 第58-59页 |
| 4.1.9 CTQ Test Score and Distribution of the Depressed Patients Without ChildhoodTrauma | 第59-60页 |
| 4.1.10 CTQ Scores of Depressed Patients With Childhood Trauma | 第60页 |
| 4.2 Expression of the CpG Islands | 第60-64页 |
| 4.2.1 The Average Level of DNA Methylation of the 13 CpG Islands Among theThree Groups | 第63-64页 |
| 4.3 Analysis of DNA Methylation of the 13 CpG Sites | 第64-69页 |
| 4.3.1 Major Depressive Disorder Including all Depressive Patients (MDD) Comparedto Healthy Controls (HC) | 第64-65页 |
| 4.3.2 Depressive Patients Without Childhood Trauma (NTD) Compared toHealthy Controls Without Childhood Trauma (HC) | 第65-66页 |
| 4.3.3 DNA Methylation Status of the Depressed Patients With ChildhoodMaltreatment and Healthy Controls | 第66页 |
| 4.3.4 Statistical Correlation of DNA Methylation Status for Both Groups ofDepressed Patients | 第66-67页 |
| 4.3.5 The Three Different Methylation Levels at CpG 7 and 8 in All Groups | 第67-69页 |
| Chapter 5 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS | 第69-74页 |
| 5.1. Discussions | 第69-72页 |
| 5.1.1 Main findings | 第69页 |
| 5.1.2 MDD and the 13 CpG sites DNA Methylation of the Exon 1F | 第69-70页 |
| 5.1.3 Childhood Trauma and Exon 1F | 第70-72页 |
| 5.1.4 Limitations | 第72页 |
| 5.2. Conclusions | 第72-74页 |
| References | 第74-80页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第80页 |
