Among the relevant categories highlighted by the analysis of the 131 dowregulated target list (Table 4.A) is the process of cellular component morphogenesis, particularly in apical parts of the cells, which is intrinsically related to neuronal development and structural plasticity (Russo et al., 2010). Interestingly, Hamilton and collaborators have recently reported that alcohol exposure decreases dendritic complexity and density while consolidating pre-existing synapses in prefrontal cortex of postnatal rats (Hamilton et al., 2010). Our data shows additional significant enrichment in the growth cone cellular component category for the core of 17 over-targeted mRNAs (Table 4.B), which underscore the impact that miRNAs may play in this process. Vesicle-related and the endomembrane system categories, accounting for about 20% of the downregulated targets in the group of 131 downregulated mRNAs, also showed highly significant enrichments. This could represent additional evidence for the role that neuronal remodelling and plasticity might play during neuroadaptation to chronic alcohol consumption. Furthermore, ubiquitination-related activities were highlighted as significantly enriched molecular functions in the core of 17 over-targeted mRNAs, which underscores the importance of the proteasome system. An unexpected
