Dio3 is a gene that control thyroid hormone levels in the fetal brain. Laura Sittig a student from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said, “Specific concentrations of thyroid hormones must be available in the fetal brain to support normal neurological development.”

The researchers hypothesized that alcohol exposure in the womb cause epigenetic changes to developmental genes like Dio3 in the fetal brain. They tested their theory by studying the gene Dio3 in rats.
Dio3 normally originate from the father’s gene, while the maternal gene is silenced by epigenetic control.
The study author’s found that alcohol changes the paternal-maternal dosage of Dio3 and this increases the amount of the gene present in certain brain regions of the fetus.

This increase reduces the availability of thyroid hormones in the parts of the brain that control learning, memory and emotional behaviors. Sittig said, “In light of our current finding we can begin testing specific dietary supplements that could reverse the epigenetic alterations that disrupt the regulation of Dio3. When given to the mother or newborn, this might correct the imprinting deficits induced by alcohol.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090610124426.htm