ArticlePsychopharmacology2021
Role of nucleus accumbens microRNA-181a and MeCP2 in incubation of heroin craving in male rats.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Opioid craving does not incubate over time in inpatient or outpatient treatment studies: Is the preclinical incubation of craving model lost in translation?Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Incubation of oxycodone craving is associated with CP-AMPAR upregulation in D1 and A2a receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons in nucleus accumbens core and shell.Neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Chronic delivery of buprenorphine during abstinence decreases incubation of heroin seeking and neuronal activation in medial prefrontal cortex and striatum in male and female rats.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Exploring the complexity of MECP2 function in Rett syndrome.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Decreased incubation of fentanyl seeking in the absence of proximal drug-paired stimuli.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Neurobiology of the incubation of drug craving: An update.Pharmacological reviews · 2025Review
- Substance-Induced Psychiatric Disorders, Epigenetic and Microbiome Alterations, and Potential for Therapeutic Interventions.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Article
- Molecular and Epigenetic Aspects of Opioid Receptors in Drug Addiction and Pain Management in Sport.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Orbitofrontal cortex microRNAs support long-lasting heroin seeking behavior in male rats.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Hyperconnectivity of two separate long-range cholinergic systems contributes to the reorganization of the brain functional connectivity during nicotine withdrawal in male mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- MicroRNA-mediated translational pathways are regulated in the orbitofrontal cortex and peripheral blood samples during acute abstinence from heroin self-administration.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2023Article
- Withdrawal: A key consideration in evaluating whether highly processed foods are addictive.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Review
- Roles of miR-592-3p and Its Target Gene, TMEFF1, in the Nucleus Accumbens During Incubation of Morphine Craving.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Article
- microRNA expression levels in the nucleus accumbens correlate with morphine-taking but not morphine-seeking behaviour in male rats.The European journal of neuroscience · 2022Article
- Epigenetic Effects of Addictive Drugs in the Nucleus Accumbens.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Review
- Noncoding RNA therapeutics for substance use disorder.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleEpigenetic regulation has been implicated in the incubation of drug craving (the time-dependent increase in drug seeking after prolonged withdrawal from drug self-administration). There is little information available on the role of microRNAs in incubation of heroin craving.
objectiveThis study aimed to investigate the roles and mechanisms of miR-181a and methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in incubation of heroin seeking.
methodsMiRNA sequencing was used to predict potential miRNAs, and miRNA profiles were performed in the NAc after 1 day or 14 days after withdrawal from heroin self-administration. Following 14 days of heroin self-administration, rats were injected of lentiviral vectors into the NAc and evaluated for the effects of overexpression of miR-181a or knockdown of MeCP2 on non-reinforced heroin seeking after 14 withdrawal days.
resultsLever presses during the heroin-seeking tests were higher after 14 withdrawal days than after 1 day (incubation of heroin craving). miR-181a expression in NAc was lower after 14 withdrawal days than after 1 day, and meCP2 expression in NAc was higher after 14 days than after 1 day. Luciferase activity assay showed that the 3'UTR of MeCP2 is directly regulated by miR-181a. Overexpression of miR-181a in NAc decreased heroin seeking after 14 withdrawal days and decreased MeCP2 mRNA and protein expression. Knockdown of MeCP2 expression in NAc by LV-siRNA-MeCP2 also decreased heroin seeking after 14 withdrawal days.
conclusionsResults indicate that incubation of heroin craving is mediated in part by time-dependent decreases in NAc miR181a expression that leads to time-dependent increases in MeCP2 expression. Our data suggest that NAc miR-181a and MeCP2 contribute to incubation of heroin craving.
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