Drug addiction is a chronic and relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and continued drug use despite adverse consequences. The high prevalence and social burden of addiction is indisputable; however, the available intervention is insufficient. Abnormal gene expression is observed in reward-related brain regions in animal models of addiction. The modulation of gene expression and aberrant adaptation of neural networks attribute to the changes in brain function under repeated exposure to addictive drugs. The emerging recognition of the role of microRNA (miRNA) provides new insights into many biological and pathological processes in the central nervous system. Considerable studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are strong modulators of posttranscriptional gene expression in drug addiction. Here, we provide an overview of miRNAs, followed by evidence for aberrant miRNA expression and regulatory roles of miRNAs in drug addiction as well as neuroadaptation. We concluded by providing our perspectives that miRNAs have the potential as novel therapeutic targets for drug addiction.

吸毒成瘾是一种慢性和复发性脑部疾病，其特征是强迫性药物寻求和持续吸毒，尽管有不良后果。成瘾的高流行率和社会负担是无可争辩的；然而，现有的干预措施是不够的。在成瘾动物模型中，在奖励相关的大脑区域中观察到异常基因表达。基因表达的调节和神经网络的异常适应归因于反复接触成瘾药物时大脑功能的变化。对 microRNA (miRNA) 作用的新认识为中枢神经系统中的许多生物和病理过程提供了新的见解。大量研究表明，miRNA 是药物成瘾中转录后基因表达的强调节剂。这里，我们提供了 miRNA 的概述，随后提供了异常 miRNA 表达和 miRNA 在药物成瘾和神经适应中的调节作用的证据。我们通过提供我们的观点得出结论，即 miRNA 有可能成为药物成瘾的新治疗靶点。