prompted researchers to classify it into a subfield called “Neuroepigenetics” (Day & Sweatt, 2010). Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms include covalent modifications to histones, transcription factor-mediated energy-dependent chromatin remodeling, DNA modification by methylation at cytosine residues and control of gene expression by non-coding RNAs (Bonasio, Tu & Reinberg, 2010). Neuroplasticity is a fundamental property of the brain that allows it to dynamically adapt following exposure to alcohol and other drugs of abuse. One mechanism by which neuroplasticity to drugs of abuse such as ethanol and cocaine may occur is via epigenetic modifications that regulate gene expression i.e. histone covalent modifications and DNA methylation mechanisms (Moonat & Pandey, 2012; Robison & Nestler, 2011).
