BDNF and major depressive disorder: We interpret the convergence of these findings as supporting the hypothesis that mothers exposed to stressors such as IPV and /or early-life adverse experiences display epigenetic signatures of HPA-axis related genes such as NR3C1 and BDNF. It should be mentioned that BDNF methylation levels were correlated to anxiety symptoms and childhood trauma, but not to IPV-PTSD or depression symptoms.