Understanding epigenetic architecture of suicide neurobiology: A critical perspective

•Influence on suicidal epigenome by environmental cues.•Reversible histone and 5-methyl cytosine based DNA modifications as prime candidates for epigenomic alterations.•Psychoepipharmacological intervention as promising therapeutic tool to improve suicidal behavior.

Current understanding of environmental cross-talk with genetic makeup is found to be mediated through an epigenetic interface which is associated with prominent reversible and heritable changes at gene expression level. Recent emergence of epigenetic modulation in shaping the genetic information has become a key regulatory factor in answering the underlying complexities associated with several mental disorders. A comprehensive understanding of the pertinent changes in the epigenetic makeup of suicide phenotype exhibits a characteristic signature with the possibility of using it as a biomarker to help predict the risk factors associated with suicide. Within the scope of this current review, the most sought after epigenetic changes of DNA methylation and histone modification are thoroughly scrutinized to understand their close functional association with the broad spectrum of suicide phenotype.