Genetic Influences On Addiction

A comprehensive review of research examining intermediary mechanisms to understand the link between genetic variation and addiction liability. Although there is scientific consensus that genetic factors play a substantial role in an individual's vulnerability to drug or alcohol addiction, specific genetic variables linked to risk or resilience remain elusive. Understanding how genetic factors contribute to addiction may require focusing on intermediary mechanisms, or intermediate phenotypes, that connect genetic variation and risk for addiction. This book offers a comprehensive review of this mechanistic-centered approach and the most promising intermediate phenotypes identified in empirical research. The contributors first consider the most established findings in the field, including variability in drug metabolism, brain electrophysiological profiles, and subjective reactions to direct drug effects; they go on to review highly promising areas such as expectancies, attentional processing, and behavioral economic variables; and finally, they investigate more exploratory approaches, including the differential susceptibility hypothesis and epigenetic modifications. Taken together, the chapters offer a macro-level testing of the hypothesis that these alternative, mechanistic phenotypes can advance the understanding of genetic influences on addiction. The book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in a range of disciplines, including behavioral genetics, psychology, pharmacology, neuroscience, and sociology. Contributors John Acker, Steven R.H. Beach, Gene H. Brody, Angela D. Bryan, Megan J. Chenoweth, Danielle M. Dick, Eske D. Derks, Mary-Anne Enoch, Meg Gerrard, Frederick X. Gibbons, Thomas E. Gladwin, Mark S. Goldman, Marcus Heilig, Kent E. Hutchison, Hollis C. Karoly, Steven M. Kogan, Man Kit Lei, Susan Luczak, James MacKillop, Renee E. Magnan, Leah M. Mayo, Marcus R. Munafò, Daria Orlowska, Abraham A. Palmer, Danielle Pandika, Clarissa C. Parker, Robert A. Philibert, Lara A. Ray, Richard R. Reich, Ronald L. Simons, Courtney J. Stevens, Rachel E. Thayer, Rachel F. Tyndale, Tamara L. Wall, Reinout W. Wiers, Michael Windle, Harriet de Wit

In the ongoing quest to improve our psychiatric diagnostic system, we are now searching for new approaches to understanding the etiological and pathophysiological mechanisms that can improve the validity of our diagnoses and the consequent power of our preventive and treatment interventions -- venturing beyond the current DSM paradigm and DSM-IV framework. This thought-provoking volume -- produced as a partnership between the American Psychiatric Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse -- represents a far-reaching attempt to stimulate research and discussion in the field in preparation for the eventual start of the DSM-V process, still several years hence. The book Explores a variety of basic nomenclature issues, including the desirability of rating the quality and quantity of information available to support the different disorders in the DSM in order to indicate the disparity of empirical support across the diagnostic system. Offers a neuroscience research agenda to guide development of a pathophysiologically based classification for DSM-V, which reviews genetic, brain imaging, postmortem, and animal model research and includes strategic insights for a new research agenda. Presents highlights of recent progress in developmental neuroscience, genetics, psychology, psychopathology, and epidemiology, using a bioecological perspective to focus on the first two decades of life, when rapid changes in behavior, emotion and cognition occur. Discusses how to address two important gaps in the current DSM-IV: (1) the categorical method of diagnosing personality disorders and their relationship with Axis I disorders, and (2) the limited provision for the diagnosis of relational disorders -- suggesting a research agenda for personality disorders that considers replacing the current categorical approach with a dimensional classification of personality. Reevaluates the relationship between mental disorders and disability, asserting that research into disability and impairment would benefit from the diagnosis of mental disorders be uncoupled from a requirement for impairment or disability to foster a more vigorous research agenda on the etiologies, courses, and treatment of mental disorders as well as disabilities and to avert unintended consequences of delayed diagnosis and treatment. Examines the importance of culture in psychopathology and the main cultural variables at play in the diagnostic process, stating that training present and future professionals in the need to include cultural factors in the diagnostic process is a logical step in any attempt to develop comprehensive research programs in psychology, psychiatry, and related disciplines. This fascinating work, with contributions from an international group of research investigators, reaches into the core of psychiatry, providing invaluable background and insights for all psychology and psychiatry professionals -- food for thought and further research that will be relevant for years to come.

Human beings have been using intoxicating substances for millennia. But while most people have used psychoactive substances without becoming dependent on them, a significant minority develop substance use disorders. The question remains: why does addiction occur in some and not others? The 61st installment of the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Genes and the Motivation to Use Substances probes the complex role of genetics in substance use and abuse across diverse methodologies, research organisms, levels of analysis and disciplines. Its combined lifespan/motivation approach to individual differences sheds necessary light on genetic vs. environmental factors in vulnerability, addiction risk, the relationship between behavioral disinhibition and substance use and the motivation to quit. While alcohol use/abuse is the focus of much of the book, its chapters provide scientific and clinical insights into substance abuse in general as well as implications for treatment. And an intriguing conclusion discusses the need to bridge the gap between genetics and neuroscience and the best scientific conditions in which this integration may thrive. Included in the coverage: • Rodent models of genetic contributions to the motivation to use alcohol. • The adolescent origins of substance abuse disorders • The developmental matrix of addictive behavior • The genetics of cannabis involvement • The DNA methylation signature of smoking • Genomics of impulsivity: integrating genetics and neuroscience. Reflecting the current state of knowledge in a field with groundbreaking potential, Genes and the Motivation to Use Substances is a fascinating resource for psychologists, psychiatrists, geneticists, neuroscientists, social workers, policymakers and researchers in addiction.

How tiny variations in our personal DNA can determine how we look, how we behave, how we get sick, and how we get well. News stories report almost daily on the remarkable progress scientists are making in unraveling the genetic basis of disease and behavior. Meanwhile, new technologies are rapidly reducing the cost of reading someone's personal DNA (all six billion letters of it). Within the next ten years, hospitals may present parents with their newborn's complete DNA code along with her footprints and APGAR score. In Genetic Twists of Fate, distinguished geneticists Stanley Fields and Mark Johnston help us make sense of the genetic revolution that is upon us. Fields and Johnston tell real life stories that hinge on the inheritance of one tiny change rather than another in an individual's DNA: a mother wrongly accused of poisoning her young son when the true killer was a genetic disorder; the screen siren who could no longer remember her lines because of Alzheimer's disease; and the president who was treated with rat poison to prevent another heart attack. In an engaging and accessible style, Fields and Johnston explain what our personal DNA code is, how a few differences in its long list of DNA letters makes each of us unique, and how that code influences our appearance, our behavior, and our risk for such common diseases as diabetes or cancer.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

As the population of older Americans grows, it is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Differences in health by racial and ethnic status could be increasingly consequential for health policy and programs. Such differences are not simply a matter of education or ability to pay for health care. For instance, Asian Americans and Hispanics appear to be in better health, on a number of indicators, than White Americans, despite, on average, lower socioeconomic status. The reasons are complex, including possible roles for such factors as selective migration, risk behaviors, exposure to various stressors, patient attitudes, and geographic variation in health care. This volume, produced by a multidisciplinary panel, considers such possible explanations for racial and ethnic health differentials within an integrated framework. It provides a concise summary of available research and lays out a research agenda to address the many uncertainties in current knowledge. It recommends, for instance, looking at health differentials across the life course and deciphering the links between factors presumably producing differentials and biopsychosocial mechanisms that lead to impaired health.

Addiction: A biopsychosocial perspective provides students with an evidence-based approach to addiction whilst covering a broad range of topics, critical perspectives and influential theories in addiction. With chapters discussing key theories, psychological, biological and societal aspects of addiction, this is a highly accessible and essential resource for students and researchers that: Offers an evidence-based discussion of addiction Addresses the neuroscience and psychology of addiction Provides a critical account of the science and research in addiction Includes chapter overviews and summaries, learning aims and case studies to help students in their study