MicroRNAs play a role in cocaine addiction
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - 16:21
in Health & Medicine
MicroRNAs, already linked to cancer, heart disease and mental disorders such as schizophrenia, may also be involved in addiction. A team of Rockefeller University neuroscientists has shown that a protein that plays a crucial role in the regulation of microRNAs, short stretches of RNA that silence genes, is also involved in regulating the motivation to consume cocaine. The findings, published online July 19 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, have already led to the identification of several microRNAs in mice that likely play a role in drug addiction and the scientists say the work could ultimately lead to new ways of combating addictive diseases in humans.