title: Corticostriatal microRNAs in addiction.
abstract: Addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug use in spite of adverse consequences. Currently, there are very few effective treatments for addiction; in order to develop novel therapies, a clearer understanding of mechanisms underlying addiction is needed. Drugs of abuse induce lasting adaptations in corticostriatal and mesolimbic brain reward circuitry due to long-term alterations in gene expression. microRNAs, a class of non-coding RNAs, are powerful regulators of gene expression that bind to target mRNAs, thereby inhibiting their translation and/or causing degradation. miRNAs are increasingly implicated in gene expression changes underlying normal neuronal function as well as dysfunctions such as addiction and psychiatric disorders. This review summarizes plasticity- and drug-related miRNA expression patterns and functions in the context of corticostriatal circuitry, while proposing future directions that may reveal miRNA-mediated mechanisms regulating addiction-related behaviors in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-6574, United States.
authors.forename: Mary P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Heyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-6574, United States. Electronic address: paul.kenny@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kenny
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000378:metabolism*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Addiction; MicroRNA; Plasticity