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Review
. 2010 Mar;33(1):107-24.
doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2009.10.003.

Genetics of addictions

Sarah M Hartz  1 , Laura J Bierut
Affiliations
Review

Genetics of addictions

Sarah M Hartz et al. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Addictions include a group of common, heritable psychiatric illnesses that have multiple psychiatric and medical comorbidities. Robust genetic associations have been found for alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence, and cocaine dependence. Common genetic associations have been found between alcohol dependence and aerodigestive cancers and between nicotine dependence and lung disease. These associations highlight the importance of understanding the genetics of substance dependence in the context of its multiple medical and psychiatric comorbidities.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Chromosome 4 region q23, including the ADH enzymes ADH1A, ADH1B, ADH1C, ADH4, ADH5, ADH6, and ADH7.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Chromosome 4 region p12, including the GABA receptor gene cluster.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
nAChRs in the striatum of the rodent central nervous system. (A) The mesostriatal dopaminergic pathway. (B) Subunit composition of the functional nAChRs expressed by dopaminergic nerve terminals (α6β2β3, α6α4β2β3, α4β2, α4α5β2). VTA, ventral tegmental area. (Reproduced from Gotti C, Clementi F. Neuronal nicotinic receptors: from structure to pathology. Prog Neurobiol 2004;74(6):363–96; with permission.)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Chromosome 15q25, including the nicotinic receptor gene cluster. The SNPs associated with nicotine dependence are highlighted.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Republished in

  • Genetics of addictions.
    Hartz SM, Bierut LJ. Hartz SM, et al. Clin Lab Med. 2010 Dec;30(4):847-64. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2010.07.005. Clin Lab Med. 2010. PMID: 20832656 Free PMC article. Review.

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