Drug addiction is considered a disorder of neuroplasticity in brain reward and cognition systems resulting from aberrant activation of gene expression programs in response to prolonged drug consumption. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are key regulators of almost all aspects of cellular physiology. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (∼21-23 nucleotides) ncRNAs transcripts that regulate gene expression at th...

The role of interoception and its neural basis with relevance to drug addiction is reviewed. Interoception consists of the receiving, processing, and integrating body-relevant signals with external stimuli to affect ongoing motivated behavior. The insular cortex is the central nervous system hub to process and integrate these signals. Interoception is an important component of several addiction...

Drug addiction is clinically defined in behavioral terms. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV of the American Psychiatric Association defines “substance dependence” as a maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three or more by the following criteria: tolerance, withdrawal, excessive use, inability to cut down, a great...

Cannabinoid receptors (CBRs) are involved in neuropsychiatric disturbances including drug addiction. Studies show that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CNR1 and FAAH may contribute to drug addiction and other neuropsychiatric disorders. However, cannabinoid type-2 receptors (CB2Rs) in the CNS and their role in drug addiction and neuropsychiatric disorders have been much less well chara...

In this paper, I reflect on two of my intertwined research interests. The first is professional engagement with researching drug use and abuse in Ireland, especially heroin addiction, applied ethnographic projects, generally answering a specific set questions how services for ‘drug addiction’ work. My second interest the historical construction ‘addiction’ discursive intersections that produce ...

Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder for which research has been dedicated to understand the various factors that contribute to development, loss of control, and persistence of compulsive addictive behaviors. In this review, we provide a broad overview of various theories of addiction, drugs of abuse, and the neurobiology involved across the addiction cycle. Specific focus is devoted ...

146 T here is an emerging consensus that drug addiction is a form of maladaptive learning. Drugs of abuse usurp the neuronal circuitry involved in motivation and reward, leading to aberrant engagement of learning processes. As a result, drug-associated cues can trigger craving and compulsive drug-seeking behavior, and voluntary control over drug use is lost. Abused drugs can also modulate long-...

Epidemiological studies have revealed striking associations between several distinct behavioral/personality traits and drug addiction, with a large emphasis on the sensation-seeking trait and the associated impulsive dimension of personality. However, in human studies, it is difficult to identify whether personality/behavioral traits actually contribute to increased vulnerability to drug addict...

The development of addiction involves a transition from casual to compulsive patterns of drug use. This transition to addiction is accompanied by many drug-induced changes in the brain and associated changes in psychological functions. In this article we present a critical analysis of the major theoretical explanations of how drug-induced alterations in psychological function might cause a tran...