Substance use disorders involve long-term changes in the brain that lead to compulsive drug seeking, craving, and a high probability of relapse. Recent findings have highlighted the role of epigenetic regulations in controlling chromatin access and regulation of gene expression following exposure to drugs of abuse. In the present review, we focus on data investigating genome-wide epigenetic modifications in the brain of addicted patients or in rodent models exposed to drugs of abuse, with a particular focus on DNA methylation and histone modifications associated with transcriptional studies. We highlight critical factors for epigenomic studies in addiction. We discuss new findings related to psychostimulants, alcohol, opiate, nicotine and cannabinoids. We examine the possible transmission of these changes across generations. We highlight developing tools, specifically those that allow investigation of structural reorganization of the chromatin. These have the potential to increase our understanding of alteration of chromatin architecture at gene regulatory regions. Neuroepigenetic mechanisms involved in addictive behaviors could explain persistent phenotypic effects of drugs and, in particular, vulnerability to relapse.

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神经表观遗传学和成瘾行为：我们站在哪里？

物质使用障碍涉及大脑的长期变化，导致强迫性寻求药物，渴望和高复发率。最近的发现突显了表观遗传学法规在接触滥用药物后在控制染色质获取和基因表达调控中的作用。在本综述中，我们专注于研究成瘾患者的大脑或暴露于滥用药物的啮齿动物模型中的全基因组表观遗传学修饰的数据，尤其关注与转录研究相关的DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰。我们重点介绍了成瘾的表观基因组研究的关键因素。我们讨论了与精神兴奋剂，酒精，鸦片，尼古丁和大麻素有关的新发现。我们研究了这些变化在几代人之间的可能传播。我们重点介绍开发工具，特别是那些允许研究染色质结构重组的工具。这些可能增加我们对基因调节区染色质结构改变的理解。成瘾行为涉及的神经表观遗传机制可以解释药物的持久表型效应，尤其是复发的易感性。