Basic Science

Studies Link Family of Genes to Nicotine Addiction

One person reaches for a cigarette soon after waking, smokes a pack a day, and cannot seem to quit. Another smokes a few cigarettes now and then but never feels driven by the need for nicotine. A third person smoked for a while in youth and then stopped. According to several recent NIDA-funded studies, such contrasting smoking patterns and responses may arise because individuals inherit different forms of half a dozen genes that dictate the features of the brain receptor to which nicotine binds. Scientists have long known that nicotine produces many of its effects by attaching to receptors for

Gene Influences Impact of Maternal Smoking on Children's Behavioral Problems

The MAOA gene encodes an enzyme, monoamine oxidase A, that influences fetal brain development and regulates communication in brain circuits throughout life. NIDA-funded researchers have demonstrated that the combination of prenatal smoking exposure and specific MAOA genotypes increases children's and adolescents' risk for antisocial behavior. Intriguingly, the study found that a different genotype confers susceptibility in boys than in girls. The genotype implicated among boys is the same one that other studies have associated with antisocial behavior following another adverse exposure

Neuropeptide Promotes Behaviors Tied to Addiction and Overeating

Three teams of NIDA-funded investigators have implicated the neuropeptide orexin (also called hypocretin) in responses that can foster the transition from casual cocaine use to regular abuse and relapse. Two of the teams also tied orexin to eating high-caloric foods that can promote obesity. The findings bode well for a strategy of treating drug abuse and overeating with medications that inhibit orexin signaling. Working Harder For Cocaine Dr. Stephanie Borgland of the University of British Columbia (UBC), Dr. Antonello Bonci of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and

Cocaine Alters Production of Hundreds of Proteins

Chronic cocaine abuse may alter the production of more than 1,000 proteins in the neurons of the brain's reward system. The finding by NIDA-funded researchers sets the stage for new advances in understanding how the stimulant causes addiction. Each affected protein may contribute to the cognitive and behavioral changes that mark the transition from voluntary to compulsive drug taking and provide a lead to new anti-addiction medication strategies. Although some of the proteins identified in the study have previously been linked to cocaine's effects, the great majority have not. Among the most

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