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MINI REVIEW article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Translational Neuroscience
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1548372
This article is part of the Research Topic Neurobiological Basis of Substance Use Disorders: New Findings and Perspectives View all 3 articles
Neurobiological Intersections of Stress and Substance Use Disorders
Provisionally accepted
Vitor Juliano 
Kairo Allan Albernaz-Mariano 
Luiza Helena Halas Covre Paloma Marinho Juca Robbert Mota Pereira Amadeu Shigeo-de-Almeida 
Lucas Luzia Sampaio 
Erica De Almeida Duque 
Carolina Demarchi Munhoz *- Universidade de Sao Paulo Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, SAO PAULO, Brazil
Substance use has been intertwined with human history for millennia. Throughout the ages, people have consumed various substances for medicinal, spiritual, and recreational reasons, although occasional use differs significantly from substance use disorders (SUDs). Exposure to lifetime stressors constitutes a significant risk factor for both psychiatric disorders and SUD development and relapse. Indeed, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis modulation, alterations in neuroanatomical and neurotransmitter systems, as well as neuroinflammation are common features of stress-related mood disorders and SUDs. In this mini-review, we will explore how stress exposure influences the SUDs' neurobiological basis on different scales—from large neural circuitries to specific molecular mechanisms—and discuss novel targets for potential treatments.
Keywords: HPA axis, Neuroinflammation, Mood Disorders, early life stress, substance use disorder
Received: 19 Dec 2024; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Juliano, Albernaz-Mariano, Covre, Juca, Pereira, Shigeo-de-Almeida, Sampaio, Duque and Munhoz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Carolina Demarchi Munhoz, Universidade de Sao Paulo Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, SAO PAULO, Brazil
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