[Involvement of post-receptor signal transduction in alcohol addiction].

Alcohol abuse and addiction is not only a severe social problem, but also an important biological medical issue. Studies in neuropsychopharmacology and molecular neurobiology indicate that neurotransmitters and its receptors play important roles in alcohol abuse and addiction, and post-receptor signal transduction pathways, including cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-protein kinase A (PKA), phosphoinositide (PI), Ca2+ -calmodulin (CAM), phospholipase D (PLD) and tyrosine kinase Fyn signaling cascade. In this review, works on post-receptor signal transduction involved in alcohol addiction are systematically presented and summarized.