Dear Colleagues,

Addiction to drugs is one of the most serious health problems worldwide. Although a great amount of research has been performed in recent decades, many aspects remain unknown, and there are large numbers of people suffering from this issue.  Importantly, the progression of drug addiction involves alterations in normal brain circuitry that result in long-lasting drug-induced neuroplastic changes. Critical neurotransmitters (i.e., gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, dopamine, opioid peptides, serotonin, acetylcholine, endocannabinoids, corticotrophin releasing factor) and neurocircuits (i.e., ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex) underlie the pathological changes at each of these stages. Thus the mechanisms underlying how one becomes addicted to drugs need to be elucidated further and through more diverse approaches, including the molecular pathway. Additionally, many studies on pharmacological or nonpharmacological therapeutics have been shown to be effective during several phases of drug addiction, such as sensitization, self-administration, withdrawal syndrome, craving, and relapse. However, the limitations of their adverse effects and the fact that these scientific mechanisms are not fully understood make us hesitant to use them. In addition, the interaction mechanism through which negative factors such as stress or emotional problems induce or accelerate addiction during each phase cannot be excluded from addiction research. Finally, the scientific approach must examine evidence related not only to functional disorder or unbalance but also structural plasticity to obtain a complete view of the problem. In this Special Issue, we would like to invite any molecular research providing scientific evidence that helps us to better understand drug addiction and the treatments for it.

Dr. Bong Hyo Lee
Guest Editor

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• drug addiction
• abuse
• mechanism
• neuroscience
• receptor