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August 08, 2019

New preclinical study points to potential role of human gene in addiction

A new study led by researchers at the National Institute...

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July 12, 2019

Dr. Paule Joseph Selected as Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in NINR/NIAAA Intramural Research Program

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July 09, 2019

Dr. Carlo C. DiClemente to Deliver 11th Annual Jack Mendelson Honorary Lecture at the National Institutes of Health

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June 19, 2019

Reduction in Drinking Associated with Improvements in Health and Quality of Life

In clinical trials for alcohol use disorder (AUD), abstinence...

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A new study led by NIAAA researchers and colleagues at @uofmichigan identifies regions of the rat genome that are associated with novelty seeking and impulsive behavior, behaviors that are highly predictive of addiction onset and progression. The region in the rat genome with the strongest association with these behaviors corresponded to a human gene associated with substance use disorders (SUD). Scientists bred rats to exhibit either high or low degrees of arousal in response to novel environment. They found that the region in the rat genome with the strongest association with the behavior contains the gene apba2. Variants of the human gene, APBA2, were found more frequently in people with SUD, supporting a link between the gene, novelty-seeking behavior, and addiction.
The authors conclude, “The converging evidences of our human genetic association analysis and the molecular and behavioral analyses of other studies link apba2 to response to novelty and at least to the early stage of drug-seeking behavior seen in externalizing disorders.” To learn more, see the article by Zhou Z, et al. PNAS. 116 (26): 13107-13115.

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