Intergenerational transmission of trauma: A biological perspective.

This commentary is based on an invited panel for the 2022 International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) annual meeting entitled "Perspective Discourses On…Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: A Biological Perspective." This was a new format introduced by ISTSS to facilitate discussion around timely topics. This session included scholars from different backgrounds (e.g., epidemiology, neuroscience, environmental health) who shared their approaches to understanding the biological bases of the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Specifically, the panel presented information about putative direct and indirect mechanisms of transmission, including epigenetic and environmental factors, and pointed to behavioral and neurobiological outcomes in offspring. This commentary synthesizes some of the current knowledge gained by these different approaches and identifies key areas to advance in future work.