title: The epigenetic landscape of addiction.
abstract: Drug-induced alterations in gene expression throughout the reward circuitry of the brain are likely components of the persistence of the drug-addicted state. Recent studies examining the molecular mechanisms controlling drug-induced transcriptional, behavioral, and synaptic plasticity have indicated a direct role for chromatin remodeling in the regulation and stability of drug-mediated neuronal gene programs, and the subsequent promulgation of addictive behaviors. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of chromatin phenomena--or epigenetics, by one definition--that contribute to drug addiction, with the hope that such mechanistic insights may aid in the development of novel therapeutics for future treatments of addiction.
authors.affiliation: Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029-6574, USA.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maze
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Nestler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000235:genetics*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin