The Genetics of Addiction

Drug addictions are becoming more and more common in media and in the general society today. The physical, psychological, societal and economic costs of drug addictions can be extremely detrimental. A recent article in Nature has published that recently conducted studies show certain genetic factors to operate in susceptibility of substance addiction, including vulnerability, initiation of substance addiction, and dependency on a substance. Interestingly, it has been determined that in women, genetic factors have a larger role in the initiation of addiction than in persistence, whereas studies of men have shown the opposite. The studies have shown several genes and regions of genes that can exhibit addiction to various substances including alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Rare mutations in these genes have also been associated schizophrenia and autism showing the importance of these genes in psychiatric disorders.

In recent years, studies have been able to identify numerous genes of susceptibility for addictions. However, few studies currently exist in the examination of genetics on illicit drug addiction and for multiple substance addiction. It has been determined that the heritability of drug addictions is affected by factors such as sex, age, education, socioeconomic status and cultural background. Currently, scientists are trying to determine the role of genetic and environmental factors on substance addiction whilst attempting to isolate these findings in individuals.

References:

http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v10/n4/full/nrg2536.html

Image:

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