Epitranscriptomics: Regulating Brain Plasticity Through Dynamic RNA Modifications

The last decade has seen the rapid development of the field of epitranscriptomics, the study of epigenetic modification of the transcriptome. Recent studies have shown that RNA modifications not only affect different aspects of RNA fate, but also regulate many processes in brain development, behaviour, stress response, and the pathophysiology of neurological disorders. In this Chapter, we review the current findings on epitranscriptomic modifications on eukaryotic mRNA with a focus on their functional roles in brain development, behaviour, and plasticity. We focus on N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the best understood epitranscriptomic modification, and briefly explore additional modifications and their interactions with m6A. We highlight how this field is unravelling a novel, plastic, layer of gene regulation, with implications for healthy brain development and adaptability of the mature brain.