There remain a number of important questions regarding the role of epigenetic modifications in the etiology of psychopathology. While most of this work has focused on epigenetic modifications and subsequent pathology in the individual, an important direction for future work will be the study of epigenetically-mediated intergenerational transfer of psychopathology. In that respect, promising research in animal models has demonstrated, for example, that opioid and cannabinoid exposure in maternal adolescence may influence addiction-like and anxiety-like behavior in subsequent generations.[65–67] Other work has demonstrated how epigenetic alterations in the sperm of cocaine-sired fathers may influence cocaine-resistance in male progeny.[68] These studies and others represent important departures for human studies regarding the role of epigenetics in psychopathology. Methodologically robust studies concerned with epigenetics in human populations stand to make an important contribution to our understanding of the etiology of mental diseases by uniting neurobiology and population health science.
