maternal separation increased the severity of behavioral measures negatively affected by prenatal ethanol exposure; however, pairing the timing of the stress with the alcohol exposure might result in a more significant interaction. Interestingly, many of the reported effects were sex-dependent, suggesting an influence of epigenetic programming on experimental outcomes. Use of similar experimental frameworks to these studies in conjunction with an epigenetic lens stands to broaden our understanding of the pathways through which developmental alcohol and stress exposure render brain damage and behavioral impairment, and identify interventions for their rescue. In addition, we have identified two areas of research that hold both intense scientific and clinical interest related to both developmental alcohol and stress exposure: 1) the ability of epigenetic marks to be passed through the germline and affect subsequent generations of offspring; and, 2) the development of therapeutics to address behavioral and cognitive deficiencies.
