Schizophrenia as well has been associated with altered DNA methylation patterns, based on
several studies available in the literature (114–117). Schizophrenia is a serious disorder of cog-
nition, rendering sufferers unable to function normally in social situations and when performing
everyday cognitive tasks. An emerging body of evidence suggests that alterations in DNA meth-
ylation contribute to transcriptional alterations in schizophrenia. Specifically, deficiencies in the
extracellular matrix protein reelin have been associated with the etiology of schizophrenia—the
promoter of the reelin gene contains several sites for DNA methylation, and inhibitors of HDAC
and DNMT activity increase expression of reelin, indicating that epigenetic mechanisms govern
the expression of reelin (115). This has led Grayson and colleagues (114) to specifically propose
the hypothesis of an epigenetic disruption of reelin as contributing to schizophrenia.