The Role of MicroRNAs in Stress-Induced Psychopathologies

Exposure to stress is a known risk factor for disease development, particularly in psychiatric disorders. Such long-lasting effects of stress on an organism's physiology are facilitated by epigenetic processes, and one such mechanism is posttranscriptional regulation by microRNAs (miRNAs). Here, we review the findings of studies in human, animal, and cellular models on miRNAs' involvement in stress-related psychopathologies, focusing on anxiety and depression. A better understanding of the complex genetic and environmental interactions that give rise to the susceptibility to develop psychopathologies, may promote the needed breakthroughs in diagnostics and therapeutics in psychiatry.