title: Epigenetics of psychoactive drugs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Epigenetics refers to the heritable, but reversible regulation of various biological functions. Changes in DNA methylation and chromatin structure derived from histone modifications are involved in the brain development, pathogenesis and pharmacotherapy of brain disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evidence suggests that epigenetic modulations play key roles in psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The analysis of epigenetic aberrations in the mechanisms of psychoactive drugs helps to determine dysfunctional genes and pathways in the brain, to predict side effects of drugs on human genome and identify new pharmaceutical targets for treatment of psychiatric diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although numerous studies have concentrated on epigenetics of psychosis, the epigenetic studies of antipsychotics are limited. Here we present epigenetic mechanisms of various psychoactive drugs and review the current literature on psychiatric epigenomics. Furthermore, we discuss various epigenetic modulations in the pharmacology and toxicology of typical and atypical antipsychotics, methionine, lithium and valproic acid.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical Faculty, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria. nadkaboyadjieva@gmail.com
authors.forename: Nadka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boyadjieva
authors.forename: Miroslava
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varadinova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs