Adverse experiences during fetal development and early postnatal life can significantly affect the physiological and behavioral trajectory of offspring. Prenatal alcohol and toxic stress exposure are two of the most common agents resulting in disturbed development of offspring and often act concomitantly (CDC, 2017; DiPietro, 2012; Driscoll et al., 1990; Watson et al., 1999). Many women turn to substance use as a way to cope with stress during pregnancy (Hanna et al., 1994; Skagerstróm et al., 2011; Yali and Lobel, 1999). Understanding the biological basis of the significant physical and behavioral consequences of developmental alcohol and/or stress exposure is important for developing care guidelines for pregnant women and parents as well as for developing therapeutic interventions for affected offspring. Epigenetic modifications to chromatin represent mechanistic pathways through which early teratogen exposure can affect brain and behavioral development. Widely studied in developmental biology, epigenetics refer to events that alter gene activity without directly impacting the DNA sequence. For this review, epigenetics includes DNA methylation, histone acetylation and methylation, posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression via microRNAs, and multigenerational (referring to intergenerational and/or
