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Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder, epigenetics, and heterochrony: An evolutionary and developmental approach.

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Title: Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder, epigenetics, and heterochrony: An evolutionary and developmental approach.
Authors: Tonna, Matteo (AUTHOR), Borrelli, Davide Fausto (AUTHOR), Marchesi, Carlo (AUTHOR), Gerra, Maria Carla (AUTHOR), Dallabona, Cristina (AUTHOR)
Source: Development & Psychopathology. Dec2025, Vol. 37 Issue 5, p2476-2490. 15p.
Subjects: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Heterochrony (Biology), Sensory conflict, Ritual, Biomarkers, Neural development, Evolutionary developmental biology, Epigenetics
Abstract: Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) stems from a bunch of restricted and repetitive behaviors, which are part of normal behavioral repertoire up to the age of 7. The persistence of compulsive-like behaviors after that age is often associated with unique comorbidity patterns, which are age-at-onset dependent and reflect different developmental stages. In particular, OCD synchronically co-occurs with a broad constellation of neurodevelopmental disorders, whereas diachronically it is related to an increased risk of major adult psychoses. Moreover, OCD is associated with trait-like sensory phenomena, suggesting a common disrupted sensorimotor grounding. The present study is aimed at exploring the hypothesis that this specific temporal and comorbidity OCD profile may be due to a developmental heterochronic mechanism of delay in attenuation of ontogenetically early behavioral patterns. The developmental shift of highly evolutionarily conserved behavioral phenotypes might be regulated by epigenetic changes induced by different conditions of sensory unbalance. This evolutionary and developmental model allows capturing childhood OCD in light of the ultimate causes of ritual behavior throughout phylogeny, namely its "homeostatic" function over conditions of unpredictability. Moreover, it may have important clinical implications, as OCD symptoms could represent putative biomarkers of early divergent developmental trajectories, with a pathoplastic effect on course and outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Development & Psychopathology is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder, epigenetics, and heterochrony: An evolutionary and developmental approach.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tonna%2C+Matteo%22">Tonna, Matteo</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Borrelli%2C+Davide+Fausto%22">Borrelli, Davide Fausto</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marchesi%2C+Carlo%22">Marchesi, Carlo</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gerra%2C+Maria+Carla%22">Gerra, Maria Carla</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dallabona%2C+Cristina%22">Dallabona, Cristina</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Development+%26+Psychopathology%22">Development & Psychopathology</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 37 Issue 5, p2476-2490. 15p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Obsessive-compulsive+disorder%22">Obsessive-compulsive disorder</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heterochrony+%28Biology%29%22">Heterochrony (Biology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sensory+conflict%22">Sensory conflict</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ritual%22">Ritual</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biomarkers%22">Biomarkers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Neural+development%22">Neural development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evolutionary+developmental+biology%22">Evolutionary developmental biology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Epigenetics%22">Epigenetics</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) stems from a bunch of restricted and repetitive behaviors, which are part of normal behavioral repertoire up to the age of 7. The persistence of compulsive-like behaviors after that age is often associated with unique comorbidity patterns, which are age-at-onset dependent and reflect different developmental stages. In particular, OCD synchronically co-occurs with a broad constellation of neurodevelopmental disorders, whereas diachronically it is related to an increased risk of major adult psychoses. Moreover, OCD is associated with trait-like sensory phenomena, suggesting a common disrupted sensorimotor grounding. The present study is aimed at exploring the hypothesis that this specific temporal and comorbidity OCD profile may be due to a developmental heterochronic mechanism of delay in attenuation of ontogenetically early behavioral patterns. The developmental shift of highly evolutionarily conserved behavioral phenotypes might be regulated by epigenetic changes induced by different conditions of sensory unbalance. This evolutionary and developmental model allows capturing childhood OCD in light of the ultimate causes of ritual behavior throughout phylogeny, namely its "homeostatic" function over conditions of unpredictability. Moreover, it may have important clinical implications, as OCD symptoms could represent putative biomarkers of early divergent developmental trajectories, with a pathoplastic effect on course and outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Development & Psychopathology is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1017/S0954579425000124
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        Text: English
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Heterochrony (Biology)
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      – SubjectFull: Sensory conflict
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      – SubjectFull: Neural development
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      – SubjectFull: Evolutionary developmental biology
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      – SubjectFull: Epigenetics
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      – TitleFull: Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder, epigenetics, and heterochrony: An evolutionary and developmental approach.
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              Text: Dec2025
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              Y: 2025
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