The Emerging Role of microRNAs in Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs conserved throughout evolution whose perceived importance for brain development and maturation is increasingly being understood. Although a plethora of new discoveries have provided novel insights into miRNA-mediated molecular mechanisms that influence brain plasticity, their relevance for neuropsychiatric diseases with known deficits in synaptic plasticity, such as schizophrenia and autism, has not been adequately explored. In this review we discuss the intersection between current and old knowledge on the role of miRNAs in brain plasticity and function with a focus in the potential involvement of brain expressed miRNAs in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.