DNA methylation is one of the essential factors in the control of gene expression. Alteration of the DNA methylation pattern in the brain links to various neurological, behavioral, and neurocognitive dysfunctions. Recent studies have pointed out the importance of epigenetics in brain development and functions including learning and memory as well as mental illnesses. Consolidation and extinction of fearful memory affect the symptoms of stress.related mental illnesses such as post.traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder, thus epigenetic mechanism might be included in the pathogenesis. In this review, possible role of DNA methylation on the vulnerability or treatment resistance for such mental illnesses is discussed tuhrough our recent results, which suggested chronic dietary lack of methyl donors in the developmental period in mice affected learning, memory and gene expressions in the hippocampus. Changed behavior affected by the alteration of epigenetic status might be inherited to next generations, although future studies should be needed.

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Alexithymia is personality construct defined as a reduced ability to identify and describe subjective feelings and to distinguish among different feelings, a paucity of fantasy, and a cognitive style that is utilitarian and externally oriented. Alexithymia could affect health through a number of pathways, directly influencing autonomic, immune and endocrine activities leading to tissue damage and to the increased vulnerability to illnesses, or indirectly, by somatosensory amplification that causes low tolerance to painful stimuli. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the lower gastrointestinal tract characterized by abdominal pain, alterations in bowel habits (constipation and/or diarrhoea), and changes in stool frequency and/or form. IBS is one of the typical psychosomatic disorders and alexithymia has been found significantly associated with IBS and others functional gastrointestinal disorders. This review focuses on the association between alexithymia and discusses its possible mechanism.

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In Japan, the number of working population is progressively decreasing due to low birth rate. The people, therefore, must work longer until older age to maintain working power. Cardiovascular risks increase with age. On the one hand, the highly developed society may pose several kinds of work stress. To prevent work.related cardiovascularevents of elderly workers, both cardiovascular risks and work stress should be carefully managed. Hypertension is a most important risk factor for brain and heart disease in Japan. In 2010, the prevalence of hypertension in the population of 30s or over was 60% in men and 45% in women. However, the well.controlled percentage of blood pressure still remains 30% in male and 40% in female, respectively. Many studies have reported that job stress is associated not only with cardiovascular risks but also with the onset of brain or heart diseases. Long working hours have been reported to increase cardiovascular risks but this association may be buffered by high level of job control and job satisfaction. Blood pressure responses to stress may be enhanced with aging due to several reasons like arterial remodeling, arterial stiffening and volume retention. To prevent work.related cardiovascular events in the elderly population, we must carefully manage both cardiovascular risks and work stress.

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The present study examined how workaholism relates the intimate partner. We hypothesized one partner’s workaholism have a negative influence on the other partner’s well.being, through one’s own poor well.being and poor couple communication. Participants were 496 couples of dual.earner parents with preschool child (ren) in Japan. Of the 8,964 questionnaires distributed, 2,992 were returned. Due to the large number of items, we randomly distributed one of two types of questionnaires. This paper used one questionnaire which includes measures of workaholism, couple communication, psychological distress, and job and family satisfaction. Results of structural equation modeling techniques showed that the proposed model fit adequately to the data for the model from husband to wife, and for the model from wife to husband. Consistent with hypotheses, husband’s workaholism led to one’s own poor well.being and consequently to partners’ (i.e. wife) ratings of husband’s poor couple communication. Then, partners’ (i.e. wife) ratings of husband’s poor couple communication resulted in wife’s poor well.being. We found the similar relationship in the model from wife’s workaholism to husband’s well.being. These findings suggest that workaholism initiate a process of one’s own poor well-being and poor couple communication, which may eventually relate the intimate partner’s well.being in an unfavorable way.

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