Adolescent Substance Abuse, Transgenerational Consequences and Epigenetics

Title:Adolescent Substance Abuse, Transgenerational Consequences and Epigenetics

Volume: 19 Issue: 9

Author(s): Hamed Salmanzadeh , S. Mohammad Ahmadi-Soleimani, Maryam Azadi, Robert F. Halliwell*Hossein Azizi *

Affiliation:

• TJ Long School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California,United States

• Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran,Iran

Keywords: Brain development, cannabinoids, opiates, alcohol, nicotine, adolescence.

Abstract: Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood and a critical period in brain development. Adolescence in humans is also associated with increased expression of risk-taking behaviors. Epidemiological and clinical studies, for example, show a surge of drug abuse and raise the hypothesis that the adolescent brain undergoes critical changes resulting in diminished control. Determining how substance abuse during this critical period might cause longterm neurobiological changes in cognition and behavior is therefore critically important. The present work aims to provide an evaluation of the transgenerational and multi-generational phenotypes derived from parent animals exposed to drugs of abuse only during their adolescence. Specifically, we will consider changes found following the administration of cannabinoids, nicotine, alcohol and opiates. In addition, epigenetic modifications of the genome following drug exposure will be discussed as emerging evidence of the underlying adverse transgenerational effects. Notwithstanding, much of the new data discussed here is from animal models, indicating that future clinical studies are much needed to better understand the neurobiological consequences and mechanisms of drug actions on the human brains’ development and maturation.

Cite this article as:

Salmanzadeh Hamed , Ahmadi-Soleimani Mohammad S. , Azadi Maryam , Halliwell F. Robert *, Azizi Hossein *, Adolescent Substance Abuse, Transgenerational Consequences and Epigenetics, Current Neuropharmacology 2021; 19 (9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1570159X19666210303121519