BDNF and Anxiety: In summary, these results suggest that AIE increases miR-137 in the adult amygdala, which allows increased H3K9me2 occupancy at the Bdnf exon IV promoter via the inhibition of Lsd1. This modulation, in addition to the AIE-induced DNA hypermethylation of the Bdnf exon IV promoter, results in reduced BDNF, which contributes to the development of anxiety-like behaviors and increased voluntary alcohol consumption in adulthood (13, 40, 41) (Figure 3A).