Epigenetic analysis of human postmortem brain tissue

Epigenomic profiles have been mapped across a broad range of brain regions and developmental contexts in postmortem human brain tissues, illuminating our understanding of epigenetic regulation in neural function and plasticity across the life course. Importantly, disease-associated epigenetic alterations in postmortem brain have provided compelling insights into the gene-regulatory architecture underlying neurobiologic disease susceptibility and pathogenesis. However, the use of postmortem brain tissues for molecular analyses warrants careful consideration of key technical and biologic factors that may confound epigenetic analyses. In this chapter, we describe the predominant forms of epigenetic regulation (DNA modifications, chromatin structure, and noncoding RNA expression) and discuss the various methodologies used to assess each epigenetic mark. In addition, we provide an overview of existing epigenetic studies using human brain tissues as well as highlight the various challenges and considerations for epigenomic profiling in human postmortem brain samples.