Substance-Related Disorders



Substance-Related Disorders

Genes and Smoking-What's the Link?

Almost 28 percent of all Americans over the age of 12 regularly smoke tobacco. Since smoking is directly tied to over 400,000 deaths each year as a result of lung disease, cancer, coronary heart disease, and strokes, much research has been devoted to devising interventions for people who want to quite smoking.

Advances in genetic research now allow researchers to focus on the factors that account for nicotine addiction.

Read New Pieces Filling in Addiction Puzzle from the January 1999 American Psychological Association Monitor. Answer the questions and e-mail to your instructor or print and hand in.



1. Describe the biobehavioral model of smoking and discuss the relative roles of environmental factors and heredity in smoking behavior.

2. Describe how the CYP2A6 gene may be implicated in smoking behavior. How does having a defective CYP2A6 gene help make someone less likely to become a regular smoker?

3. What is the relationship between the SLC6A 3 gene and smoking behavior? How does this gene interact with the D2 dopamine receptor to affect smoking behavior?

4. How might today's societal view about smoking protect people from smoking?

5. Summarize the most reasonable conclusion to be made about the current research on the relationship between psychological, social, environmental, and genetic factors that influence smoking behavior.

6. Why is it important for multidisciplinary research teams to study the genetic-environment interactions that influence smoking behavior? What disciplines need to be involved in the effort?

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download