Recent advances in molecular biotechnology have created powerful new models to clarify the neurobiological mechanisms involved in drug addiction. In Molecular Biology of Drug Addiction, leading authorities extensively survey these advances in a comprehensive multidisciplinary review of the most relevant molecular, genetic, and behavioral approaches used to investigate the neurobiological basis of drug addiction. In their exploration of the latest findings on opioid, psychostimulant, cannabinoid, alcohol, and nicotine addiction, the authors provide fresh insights into the genetic basis of drug addiction and the new therapeutic perspectives these have opened. They describe the technology available to generate conditional knockout mice and show how these mice can reveal the molecular basis of opioid, psychostimulant, and cannabinoid addiction. They also review the different behavioral models available to evaluate drug reward effects and analyze the genes involved in alcohol dependence.State-of-the-art and multidisciplinary, Molecular Biology of Drug Addiction offers neuro- and pharmaceutical scientists a clear understanding of a vast and complex literature, illuminating the decisive progress that has recently occurred and outlining the direction of future research on addictive processes.

I. Opioid Addiction.- 1 Molecular Mechanisms of Opioid Dependence by Using Knockout Mice.- 2 Molecular Genetic Approaches.- 3 Opiate Addiction: Role of the cAMP Pathway and CREB.- 4 Different Intracellular Signaling Systems Involved in Opioid Tolerance/Dependence.- 5 Inhibitors of Enkephalin Catabolism: New Therapeutic Tool in Opioid Dependence.- II. Psychostimulant Addiction.- 6 Recent Advances in the Molecular Mechanisms of Psychostimulant Abuse Using Knockout Mice.- 7 Opioid Modulation of Psychomotor Stimulant Effects.- 8 Influence of Environmental and Hormonal Factors in Sensitivity to Psychostimulants.- 9 Development and Expression of Behavioral Sensitization: Temporal Profile of Changes in Gene Expression.- III. Cannabinoid Addiction.- 10 New Advances in the Identification and Physiological Roles of the Components of the Endogenous Cannabinoid System.- 11 Integration of Molecular and Behavioral Approaches to Evaluate Cannabinoid Dependence.- 12 Opioid System Involvement in Cannabinoid Tolerance and Dependence.- IV. Alcohol and Nicotine Addiction.- 13 Current Strategies for Identifying Genes for Alcohol Sensitivity.- 14 Genetic Basis of Ethanol Reward.- 15 Behavioral and Molecular Aspects of Alcohol Craving and Relapse.- 16 Molecular and Behavioral Aspects of Nicotine Dependence and Reward.