Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33647589›Full record

ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2021

microRNA regulation related to the protective effects of environmental enrichment against cocaine-seeking behavior.

Annika Vannan, Gregory L Powell, Michela Dell'Orco, Melissa A Wilson, Nora I Perrone-Bizzozero, Janet L Neisewander

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 38% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Changes in nucleus accumbens core translatome accompanying incubation of cocaine craving.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Annika VannanSchool of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Gregory L PowellSchool of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Michela Dell'OrcoDepartment of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Melissa A WilsonSchool of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Nora I Perrone-BizzozeroDepartment of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Janet L NeisewanderSchool of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. Electronic address: janet.neisewander@asu.edu.
Arizona State University · USUniversity of New Mexico · US

Funding

Competing roles of microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins in drug addictionR01DA034097 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · PI NEISEWANDER, JANET L, PERRONE-BIZZOZERO, NORA IRMA · 2012 to 2016
$2.2M
Role of circHomer1 in synaptic plasticity and cocaine-seeking behaviorR21DA048651 · NIDA · ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS · PI NEISEWANDER, JANET L, PERRONE-BIZZOZERO, NORA IRMA · 2020 to 2021
$425k
NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA034097NIDA NIH HHS R21 DA048651
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are "master post-transcriptional regulators" of gene expression. Here we investigate miRNAs involved in the incentive motivation for cocaine elicited by exposure to cocaine-associated cues.

methodsWe conducted NanoString nCounter analyses of microRNA expression in the nucleus accumbens shell of male rats that had been tested for cue reactivity in a previous study. These rats had been trained to self-administer cocaine while living in isolate housing, then during a subsequent 21-day forced abstinence period they either stayed under isolate housing or switched to environmental enrichment (EE), as this EE intervention is known to decrease cocaine seeking. This allowed us to create groups of "high" and "low" cocaine seekers using a median split of cocaine-seeking behavior.

resultsDifferential expression analysis across high- and low-seekers identified 33 microRNAs that were differentially expressed in the nucleus accumbens shell. Predicted mRNA targets of these microRNAs are implicated in synaptic plasticity, neuronal signaling, and neuroinflammation signaling, and many are known addiction-related genes. Of the 33 differentially-expressed microRNAs, 8 were specifically downregulated in the low-seeking group and another set of 8 had expression levels that were significantly correlated with cocaine-seeking behavior.

conclusionThese findings not only confirm the involvement of previously identified microRNAs (e.g., miR-212, miR-495) but also reveal novel microRNAs (e.g., miR-3557, miR-377) that alter, or are altered by, processes associated with cocaine-seeking behavior. Further research examining the mechanisms involved in these microRNA changes and their effects on signaling may reveal novel therapeutic targets for attenuating drug craving.

Indexed as

CocaineAnimalsBehavior, AddictiveCocaine-Related DisordersConditioning, PsychologicalCravingCuesDrug-Seeking BehaviorEnvironmentGene ExpressionGene Expression RegulationMaleMicroRNAsMotivationNucleus AccumbensRatsCocaineMicroRNAsDrug abuseGene expressionIsolation stressmiRNAMotivationSubstance use disorders

Identifiers

PMID33647589
PMCPMC8042572
OpenAlexW3129998061

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.