Intergenerational effects of adolescent drug exposure on behavior

Drug addiction is a serious medical and social problem around the world. More than 50 percent of substance use cases were initiated between the ages of 15-19. Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood. In rats, the period between postnatal days (PND) 28 and 42 is considered the early-mid adolescence (12–17 years in human), whereas the later interval (PND 43–55) may model the late adolescence/emerging adulthood period (18–25 years in humans). Adolescence is a critical time of brain development and maturation. Many researchers have shown that certain epigenetic changes can transfer from parents to offspring through DNA methylation, histone acetylation and different types of small noncoding regulatory RNAs. There is compelling evidence for the effect of parental drug abuse such as opioid, cocaine, nicotine, cannabinoid and alcohol on the offspring. In this report, we will study the effects of Adolescent drug abuse on behavior and cognitive aspects of offspring.