The above findings demonstrate that miRNAs, including miR-212, regulate the motivational properties of drugs of abuse. miRNAs regulate drug intake by impacting a wide range of downstream signaling cascades known to influence the rewarding properties of addictive drugs. This highlights the pleiotropic nature of miRNAs and how well-positioned they are to orchestrate intracellular signaling events in order to control the motivational properties of drugs. Important areas of future research will include achieving a more in-depth understanding of the intracellular signaling cascades, and broader understanding of impacted biological functions, impacted by addiction-relevant miRNAs. Also important will be understanding the mechanisms by which miRNAs activities are regulated, from miRNA transcription to the protein complexes that direct their activities.
