Childhood abuse can leave a mark

says this article 'Leaving a mark' from Science News:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/31794/title/Leaving_a_mark
Excerpts:
"In the brains of suicide victims, early abuse marks genes that encode ribosomal RNA, key gears in the cellular machinery that makes proteins, researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, report. The marks are methyl groups, chemical units that tattoo the DNA in a region that controls whether ribosomal RNA is turned on or off. Methyl tattoos help turn the genes off in a part of the brain associated with depression.
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Although the rRNA result was unexpected, it may help explain the link between neuron growth and depression, Meaney says. “Neurogenesis is going to depend on protein production,” he says. So child abuse could shut off rRNA genes by scarring them with methylation. That leads to depletion of rRNAs, which then dials down protein production, leading to reduced neuron growth and thus depression and suicide."