Genetic Influences on Addiction: Alcoholism as an Exemplar

Abstract

(from the chapter) The goal of this chapter is to conceptually review the evidence of genetic factors on addictive behavior, integrating various lines of behavioral genetic research and critically discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the current knowledge in the field. The focus is on alcoholism, or alcohol dependence. The chapter is divided into three general sections. The first section will focus on several sources of evidence indicating substantial genetic influences on alcoholism from various methodological approaches. This includes findings from genetic epidemiology studies, nonhuman animal research, genetic linkage analysis, and case-control association studies. This literature has produced clear evidence of genetic risk for alcoholism, but has also revealed a pattern of genetic influences that is polygenic and multifactorial. The second section will focus on recent research that is seeking to uncover specific genetic factors that contribute to risk for alcoholism. In particular, we will review recent efforts to identify intermediate phenotypes, or "endophenotypes," which may elucidate the mechanistic processes that connect variation in gene function to variation in alcohol use and misuse. This is a less extensive area of research, but it is also at the vanguard of the field because of its potential to trace specific influences from the genome to the disorder itself. Based on the findings reviewed in the first two sections, the final section will discuss the implications of genetic influences for theories of alcoholism and clinical approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)