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H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist
Genetically predisposed to addiction?
- Thread starter dimitri9
- Start date
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
Giovi9 said:
At the end of the day you are correct. However, its a bit too simplistic in modern day society; we tend to expect to be happy to a certain extent ppl dont want to be with someone who is miserable and shy or suffer social anxiety and if one is more down or impeded due to lowered/increased neurotransmitter activity resulting in these maladays then it will stand to reason that one will try and rectify this by external means (eg drugs/alcohol). To rederess the balance so to speak.
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
Re: diagnosing substance dependance
this is textbook pscyhology on addiction...not necessarily true to all.
dabnybrown said:
this is textbook pscyhology on addiction...not necessarily true to all.
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
Re: GENETICS
Genetics and environment. You cant have one without the other or it would be so simple, lets simply relearn. Behaviourism would have cleaned up and we would have addiction if this were the case.
Doctors are just humans who dont know everything. There are as many theories as there are doctors. Reason being - we are all different.
dabnybrown said:
Genetics and environment. You cant have one without the other or it would be so simple, lets simply relearn. Behaviourism would have cleaned up and we would have addiction if this were the case.
Doctors are just humans who dont know everything. There are as many theories as there are doctors. Reason being - we are all different.
dabnybrown
Bluelighter
yes you are right,he said mind+body+soul+enviorment=functioning level of operation readiness or floor..also he had alot of intreting therios that made some sense..like my brain is not my friend i can only go by math+science=fact
dabnybrown
Bluelighter
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n350/a14.html
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Votes: 2
Pubdate: Friday, March 26, 1999
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Pages: C1, C2
Copyright: 1999, The Toronto Star
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Author: Ronald Kotulak, Special to The Star
STUDY LINKS GENETICS AND ADDICTION
Drug addiction has become a pervasive and pernicious problem, not simply because of the wide availability of drugs, but also because nearly everyone inherits a vulnerability for addiction to mind-altering chemicals, according to new research.
Just as certain genes make some people more prone to heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer's disease, scientists now believe that other genes may make them more susceptible to becoming addicted to heroin, marijuana or other compounds that affect the brain's natural reward system.
``It appears that the genetic vulnerability for substance and alcohol abuse is fairly general in our society,'' says Dr. David Goldman, chief of neuro-genetics at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
In underscoring the roles that genes and environment play in causing addiction, the new findings open the possibility of developing the first effective prevention and treatment strategies for drug abuse.
The findings reveal the inherited biology that turns some people into alcoholics and debunk long-held beliefs, such as the notion that marijuana use puts an individual on the slippery slope to cocaine or heroin use.
Western cultures tend to view addiction as a sin to be condemned or as a disease to be treated, Goldman says.
``The fact that we have failed too often with either approach suggests that a better understanding of the origins of addiction could be useful to help people make better decisions,'' he says.
A study of identical and fraternal twins found that, in general, genetic influences account for one-third of addiction, family another third, and peers, friends and co-workers the remaining third.
But all types of addiction are not equal when it comes to the impact of genes.
The study, which appears in the Archives Of General Psychiatry, found that genes accounted for more than half of the risk of heroin addiction, but only 26 per cent of the addiction to psychedelics.
The biggest factor influencing addiction to psychedelics is the non-family environment, including friends, schoolmates and co-workers, which accounts for 53 per cent.
For marijuana addiction, the non-family environment has the biggest influence, accounting for 38 per cent, while genes account for 33 per cent.
``Some of these addictions - for example, alcohol and opioid abuse - are more heritable than susceptibility to coronary artery disease or obesity,'' Goldman says.
Although addiction-predisposing genes are not yet known, finding them has become a major goal of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Early success by researchers in linking some genes to alcoholism has convinced the institute to do the same thing for addiction genes.
The ability to diagnose genes that make a person more susceptible to specific addictions could result in lifestyle changes to prevent addiction or the development of medicines that block the individual action of each drug of abuse.
``Drug addictions join a series of other conditions - for example, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and alcoholism - that are recognized as common, complex, genetically influenced diseases,'' Goldman says.
``Each of these disorders can be profoundly influenced both by inherited genes and by such life choices as smoking, diet, exercise, condom use and abstinence from alcohol.''
The study, headed by Harvard's Dr. Ming Tsuang, also overturns the old belief that the use of less-addictive drugs such as marijuana, sets people on the path to becoming hooked on cocaine or heroin.
While some people abuse every drug they can, because these drugs affect a major chemical path in their reward system, others have genes that make them addicted to one type of drug that affects only a very specific part of the reward mechanism.
``There are genetic effects that make some people predisposed to substance abuse,'' says Dr. Jack Goldberg of the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.
``It doesn't mean that addiction is predetermined by genes. It just means that some of us are more susceptible than others to abusing drugs if we try them,'' says Goldberg, who participated in the study.
``If you're not genetically predisposed to drug abuse, but are in an environment where everyone uses drugs, and you do too, you might become addicted.''
Abused drugs tend to alter levels of natural chemicals called neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in impulse control and the ability of the brain's reward system to dole out sensations ranging from pleasure to euphoria.
``Nobody gets addicted the first time they use a drug; that's a myth,'' says Dr. Alan Leshner, director of the drug abuse institute. ``But people do become addicted at different rates. The problem is that you as an individual have no idea how susceptible you are to being addicted.
``At its core, addiction is about changed brains. We need to be looking at genes to see whose brain is more or less susceptible to being changed.''
Researchers recently found a gene that is linked to antisocial alcoholism. It is a mutant form of a gene known as HTR1B, which lowers levels of serotonin and increases the risk of impulsive aggression.
The mutant gene was discovered through genetic analysis of Finnish alcoholic criminal offenders and a Southwest American Indian tribe with a high rate of alcoholism.
``These drugs talk directly to the brain in a way a therapist never can,'' Goldman says. ``Once somebody becomes addicted to a drug, it appears that the brain is forever changed. They have a greater vulnerability for relapse.''
Discovering the genes that predispose to addiction will help scientists track chemical pathways in the brain, allowing them to devise counter-measures to block a drug's ability to cause a ``high.'' Learning what behaviours in families and among friends induce people to try drugs and to abuse them will also help to derail environmental risks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAP posted-by: Patrick Henry
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Votes: 2
Pubdate: Friday, March 26, 1999
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Pages: C1, C2
Copyright: 1999, The Toronto Star
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Author: Ronald Kotulak, Special to The Star
STUDY LINKS GENETICS AND ADDICTION
Drug addiction has become a pervasive and pernicious problem, not simply because of the wide availability of drugs, but also because nearly everyone inherits a vulnerability for addiction to mind-altering chemicals, according to new research.
Just as certain genes make some people more prone to heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer's disease, scientists now believe that other genes may make them more susceptible to becoming addicted to heroin, marijuana or other compounds that affect the brain's natural reward system.
``It appears that the genetic vulnerability for substance and alcohol abuse is fairly general in our society,'' says Dr. David Goldman, chief of neuro-genetics at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
In underscoring the roles that genes and environment play in causing addiction, the new findings open the possibility of developing the first effective prevention and treatment strategies for drug abuse.
The findings reveal the inherited biology that turns some people into alcoholics and debunk long-held beliefs, such as the notion that marijuana use puts an individual on the slippery slope to cocaine or heroin use.
Western cultures tend to view addiction as a sin to be condemned or as a disease to be treated, Goldman says.
``The fact that we have failed too often with either approach suggests that a better understanding of the origins of addiction could be useful to help people make better decisions,'' he says.
A study of identical and fraternal twins found that, in general, genetic influences account for one-third of addiction, family another third, and peers, friends and co-workers the remaining third.
But all types of addiction are not equal when it comes to the impact of genes.
The study, which appears in the Archives Of General Psychiatry, found that genes accounted for more than half of the risk of heroin addiction, but only 26 per cent of the addiction to psychedelics.
The biggest factor influencing addiction to psychedelics is the non-family environment, including friends, schoolmates and co-workers, which accounts for 53 per cent.
For marijuana addiction, the non-family environment has the biggest influence, accounting for 38 per cent, while genes account for 33 per cent.
``Some of these addictions - for example, alcohol and opioid abuse - are more heritable than susceptibility to coronary artery disease or obesity,'' Goldman says.
Although addiction-predisposing genes are not yet known, finding them has become a major goal of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Early success by researchers in linking some genes to alcoholism has convinced the institute to do the same thing for addiction genes.
The ability to diagnose genes that make a person more susceptible to specific addictions could result in lifestyle changes to prevent addiction or the development of medicines that block the individual action of each drug of abuse.
``Drug addictions join a series of other conditions - for example, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and alcoholism - that are recognized as common, complex, genetically influenced diseases,'' Goldman says.
``Each of these disorders can be profoundly influenced both by inherited genes and by such life choices as smoking, diet, exercise, condom use and abstinence from alcohol.''
The study, headed by Harvard's Dr. Ming Tsuang, also overturns the old belief that the use of less-addictive drugs such as marijuana, sets people on the path to becoming hooked on cocaine or heroin.
While some people abuse every drug they can, because these drugs affect a major chemical path in their reward system, others have genes that make them addicted to one type of drug that affects only a very specific part of the reward mechanism.
``There are genetic effects that make some people predisposed to substance abuse,'' says Dr. Jack Goldberg of the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.
``It doesn't mean that addiction is predetermined by genes. It just means that some of us are more susceptible than others to abusing drugs if we try them,'' says Goldberg, who participated in the study.
``If you're not genetically predisposed to drug abuse, but are in an environment where everyone uses drugs, and you do too, you might become addicted.''
Abused drugs tend to alter levels of natural chemicals called neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in impulse control and the ability of the brain's reward system to dole out sensations ranging from pleasure to euphoria.
``Nobody gets addicted the first time they use a drug; that's a myth,'' says Dr. Alan Leshner, director of the drug abuse institute. ``But people do become addicted at different rates. The problem is that you as an individual have no idea how susceptible you are to being addicted.
``At its core, addiction is about changed brains. We need to be looking at genes to see whose brain is more or less susceptible to being changed.''
Researchers recently found a gene that is linked to antisocial alcoholism. It is a mutant form of a gene known as HTR1B, which lowers levels of serotonin and increases the risk of impulsive aggression.
The mutant gene was discovered through genetic analysis of Finnish alcoholic criminal offenders and a Southwest American Indian tribe with a high rate of alcoholism.
``These drugs talk directly to the brain in a way a therapist never can,'' Goldman says. ``Once somebody becomes addicted to a drug, it appears that the brain is forever changed. They have a greater vulnerability for relapse.''
Discovering the genes that predispose to addiction will help scientists track chemical pathways in the brain, allowing them to devise counter-measures to block a drug's ability to cause a ``high.'' Learning what behaviours in families and among friends induce people to try drugs and to abuse them will also help to derail environmental risks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAP posted-by: Patrick Henry
dabnybrown
Bluelighter
addiction genetics more info
What is Addiction?
by Judy Shepps Battle, MA
Addiction is a chronic, progressive, and sometimes fatal disorder with both genetic and environmental roots. It is a compulsion that drives an individual to continue to behave in a way that is harmful to self and loved ones, despite an intense desire to halt that behavior. It is a disease of "more" -- an active addict needs an increasing amount of substance to get high and is unable to cease usage without painful withdrawal symptoms. This is true whether the addictive substance is a drug -- such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, or heroin -- or a behavior, such as gambling or sexual promiscuity.
Addiction is not confined to any economic, social, racial, religious, occupational, or age group. Addicts are not visually identifiable; it is impossible to pick out an alcoholic, drug addict, or the people who enable addictive behavior (co-dependents) from a gallery of photographs.
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse is costly. More than $275 billion dollars are spent annually in the United States on medical and social issues related to addiction. This averages out to nearly $1000 per person, whether or not that person uses drugs, because these costs include related crime, loss of work time, medical expenses from health-related injuries or illnesses, property damage, and treatment.
There is no known cure for addiction. Relapse is a part of the disease and may be triggered in a variety of environmental and emotional ways. Life-long monitoring is necessary, yet with appropriate identification, treatment, and self-care, an addict can live a productive substance-free life.
What causes addiction?
We know that addiction runs in families, but how is it transmitted? Are we born with an "addiction gene" or with an "addictive personality," or are we taught addictive behavior by our family and society? This classic question of nature vs. nurture is answered with a qualified "both."
Genetic Causes
There is evidence that heredity plays an important part in increasing the likelihood of developing active addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Researchers have compared alcoholism rates of adoptees born to alcoholic parents with those born to nonalcoholic parents. One study found higher alcoholism rates (two to three times higher) in sons whose natural parents were alcoholics than in sons whose natural parents were nonalcoholics. If we assume that the children studied were adopted by families with equal addiction rates, we can also assume that genetic factors play a significant role. Unfortunately, these studies could not rule out the effect of environment on their subjects.
Twin studies offer more convincing evidence. Monozygotic (identical) twins share an identical genetic makeup while dizygotic (fraternal) twins share, on average, only 50 percent of genetic similarities. When we look at pairs of twins who have been raised together the variable of "environment" is controlled (not a factor).
Studies of male twins find that identical twins have 50 to 200 percent greater rates of alcoholism than fraternal twins. The abuse of sedatives, stimulants, cocaine, and opiates also follows this pattern and is associated with genetic predisposition.
Environmental Factors
Although both adoption and twin studies indicate that genetic factors contribute to a predisposition for addiction, they do not tell the entire story. Environmental factors can increase the risk for developing addiction or assist in the development of resiliency skills that protect an individual from beginning to use addictive substances.
Many professionals focus primarily on environmental risk factors as determinants of a child's vulnerability to substance use and other behavioral health problems. These include demographics (geography, economics, crime rate, quality of schools) and familial factors (genetics, family addiction, family parenting skills).
A child from an urban, poor neighborhood with a high crime rate and poor school system is more likely to begin substance use than his demographic opposite. Having a family history of addiction, living with active addicts, and being inadequately parented also increases the risk of using and abusing substances.
But not all kids from these high-risk environments become casualties. When we study characteristics of successful adults who come from at-risk backgrounds it is found that these adults have developed certain strengths (resiliency factors) that become survival tools.
Basic resiliency factors involve self-esteem and sound decision-making skills. Many school systems have developed curricula to foster this quality, but the primary garden of resiliency is the family.
Findings consistently show that the more adolescents feel a mix of unconditional love and loving boundaries (also called "loving control" or "loving autonomy"), the less likely they are to experience substance abuse and related problems.
Most critically, the longer initiation into substance use is delayed, the less likely addiction will result.
Implications
There is a saying that we cannot chose our family but we can choose our friends. Similarly, we have little ability to change genetic inheritance but we can support school and community prevention programs that effectively delay first use of alcohol and drugs and strengthen resiliency in at-risk youth.
If we couple this prevention effort with providing adequate treatment resources for those already addicted (and their families), we will begin to create a solid foundation for an addiction-free society.
References:
"Alive & Free," Hazelden Center City, Minnesota, 1999.
"Addictive Behaviors : Readings on Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment" Marlatt, Alan G. ed, and Vandenbos, Gary R., ed. American Psychological Assocation, Washington D.C., 1998.
Copyright 2000 Judy Shepps Battle
What is Addiction?
by Judy Shepps Battle, MA
Addiction is a chronic, progressive, and sometimes fatal disorder with both genetic and environmental roots. It is a compulsion that drives an individual to continue to behave in a way that is harmful to self and loved ones, despite an intense desire to halt that behavior. It is a disease of "more" -- an active addict needs an increasing amount of substance to get high and is unable to cease usage without painful withdrawal symptoms. This is true whether the addictive substance is a drug -- such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, or heroin -- or a behavior, such as gambling or sexual promiscuity.
Addiction is not confined to any economic, social, racial, religious, occupational, or age group. Addicts are not visually identifiable; it is impossible to pick out an alcoholic, drug addict, or the people who enable addictive behavior (co-dependents) from a gallery of photographs.
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse is costly. More than $275 billion dollars are spent annually in the United States on medical and social issues related to addiction. This averages out to nearly $1000 per person, whether or not that person uses drugs, because these costs include related crime, loss of work time, medical expenses from health-related injuries or illnesses, property damage, and treatment.
There is no known cure for addiction. Relapse is a part of the disease and may be triggered in a variety of environmental and emotional ways. Life-long monitoring is necessary, yet with appropriate identification, treatment, and self-care, an addict can live a productive substance-free life.
What causes addiction?
We know that addiction runs in families, but how is it transmitted? Are we born with an "addiction gene" or with an "addictive personality," or are we taught addictive behavior by our family and society? This classic question of nature vs. nurture is answered with a qualified "both."
Genetic Causes
There is evidence that heredity plays an important part in increasing the likelihood of developing active addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Researchers have compared alcoholism rates of adoptees born to alcoholic parents with those born to nonalcoholic parents. One study found higher alcoholism rates (two to three times higher) in sons whose natural parents were alcoholics than in sons whose natural parents were nonalcoholics. If we assume that the children studied were adopted by families with equal addiction rates, we can also assume that genetic factors play a significant role. Unfortunately, these studies could not rule out the effect of environment on their subjects.
Twin studies offer more convincing evidence. Monozygotic (identical) twins share an identical genetic makeup while dizygotic (fraternal) twins share, on average, only 50 percent of genetic similarities. When we look at pairs of twins who have been raised together the variable of "environment" is controlled (not a factor).
Studies of male twins find that identical twins have 50 to 200 percent greater rates of alcoholism than fraternal twins. The abuse of sedatives, stimulants, cocaine, and opiates also follows this pattern and is associated with genetic predisposition.
Environmental Factors
Although both adoption and twin studies indicate that genetic factors contribute to a predisposition for addiction, they do not tell the entire story. Environmental factors can increase the risk for developing addiction or assist in the development of resiliency skills that protect an individual from beginning to use addictive substances.
Many professionals focus primarily on environmental risk factors as determinants of a child's vulnerability to substance use and other behavioral health problems. These include demographics (geography, economics, crime rate, quality of schools) and familial factors (genetics, family addiction, family parenting skills).
A child from an urban, poor neighborhood with a high crime rate and poor school system is more likely to begin substance use than his demographic opposite. Having a family history of addiction, living with active addicts, and being inadequately parented also increases the risk of using and abusing substances.
But not all kids from these high-risk environments become casualties. When we study characteristics of successful adults who come from at-risk backgrounds it is found that these adults have developed certain strengths (resiliency factors) that become survival tools.
Basic resiliency factors involve self-esteem and sound decision-making skills. Many school systems have developed curricula to foster this quality, but the primary garden of resiliency is the family.
Findings consistently show that the more adolescents feel a mix of unconditional love and loving boundaries (also called "loving control" or "loving autonomy"), the less likely they are to experience substance abuse and related problems.
Most critically, the longer initiation into substance use is delayed, the less likely addiction will result.
Implications
There is a saying that we cannot chose our family but we can choose our friends. Similarly, we have little ability to change genetic inheritance but we can support school and community prevention programs that effectively delay first use of alcohol and drugs and strengthen resiliency in at-risk youth.
If we couple this prevention effort with providing adequate treatment resources for those already addicted (and their families), we will begin to create a solid foundation for an addiction-free society.
References:
"Alive & Free," Hazelden Center City, Minnesota, 1999.
"Addictive Behaviors : Readings on Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment" Marlatt, Alan G. ed, and Vandenbos, Gary R., ed. American Psychological Assocation, Washington D.C., 1998.
Copyright 2000 Judy Shepps Battle
^^^^^^^^^^
Yea that great there guy but bottom line those who have quit were able to because they wanted to. It had nothing to do with their family they just made the decision to stop doing what they thought was not working for themselves at that time. That decision is very easy to make but sticking to it is a whole different story. Those who really want to quit do.
Yea that great there guy but bottom line those who have quit were able to because they wanted to. It had nothing to do with their family they just made the decision to stop doing what they thought was not working for themselves at that time. That decision is very easy to make but sticking to it is a whole different story. Those who really want to quit do.
dabnybrown
Bluelighter
i know you are right..i think it is mind over matter..i was taking 20 mg a day of zannex.for the last ten years and smoking a quater of weed a day..i quit 31 days ago becuase of my hopeless state of mind.it is easier for me to understand how i got here.if i see it in black and white it gives me strengh to know I am not alone and i just want to help others seeit too.there are no excuse..once you know you can not know..peace and love
ah.. and by the way... I have read posts where people referred to their families as being adicts or not..... when you look into mendelian segregation of genes, you´ll find out, that it is possible for parents who are both addicts to have a child that has none of the mutant genes. and vice versa.... 2 non affected parents can both carry a covered up-mutant gene, and if both by chance (50% per parent) pass on the mutant (broken) gene, the child gets both broken genes, and no functional genes to cover up, and so be affected...
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
with drugs like heroin and tobacco, which are physically addictive surely it could be as simple as exposure - the more you do it, the more you will get addicted. Does there really need to be much more too it, in some instances?
I personaly am addicted bc i get ill if i dont have it. when i came off opiates for nearly a year the only reason i decided to go back on them was the depression i was enduring, therefore i chose to go back on it.
So with me (and many others) it would seem that there is a strong biological component.
I personaly am addicted bc i get ill if i dont have it. when i came off opiates for nearly a year the only reason i decided to go back on them was the depression i was enduring, therefore i chose to go back on it.
So with me (and many others) it would seem that there is a strong biological component.
Flexistentialist
Bluelight Crew
I think addiction is a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. For some people it's only one, but I think in the majority of cases, it's a combination of all three.
Interesting discussion.
Interesting discussion.
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
^its been a while since we have had one on the subject.
BilZ0r
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2003
- Messages
- 6,675
The problem is, you can't split the factors up. Genetic factors change the brain, social factors change the brain and brain factors change your social factors, I mean, even brain changes alter genetic expression. So you can't really avoid these things. In the end, addiction is the result of the brain.
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
^true, but its interesting to investigate this issue as it features so much on BL, many ppl just think they have an addictive personality. I think we should attempt to get as near to what underpins addiction as possible, considering Harm Reduction is the focus of this site, knowing more about addiction would be good for any BLer to know.
ebeneezer_geeza
Bluelighter
But how do we know that some "learned" patterns arent already there, eg handed down by ancestors?
imo they are there.
kinda like....schemas to a degree that pre-exist, or partially exist in one form or another. waiting to be connected or have missing pieces put in.
on another note. what is yalls opinion on the relationship between say a drug addict and addicts of other sorts.
say gambling.
still feeding off a reward i suppose. whats yalls opinion?
kinda like....schemas to a degree that pre-exist, or partially exist in one form or another. waiting to be connected or have missing pieces put in.
on another note. what is yalls opinion on the relationship between say a drug addict and addicts of other sorts.
say gambling.
still feeding off a reward i suppose. whats yalls opinion?