While it is true that people make a conscious choice to indulge in unhealthy substances, there may be a powerful force at work that drives them to this stage. Stress can be a key trigger for many people and new research suggests some individual are more prone to the type of stress that increases the likelihood of drug and alcohol intake.
A recent Science Daily report announced that a Baylor University researcher, Dr. Doug Matthews, a professor of psychology and neuroscience, has identified a set of genes that modulates stress responses that could cause certain people to take more drugs. These genes especially impact alcohol intake.
In his research, Matthews found a small section on chromosome one that appeared to be responsive to a particular type of stress in animal models. Researchers then identified the genes within that region that could be responsible for the behavioral response to stress, such as alcohol consumption.
“This study gives us insight into a common genetic pathway for stress that might be critical in modulating drug taking behavior, especially alcohol consumption since many people report drinking alcohol to reduce stress,” Matthews said. “It also gave us some ideas on where to look in the brain for drug taking behavior and it provided a method to do so.”
According to Matthews, the researchers used a unique method in completing the project by selecting chromosomes from one particular strain of mice and then embed them inside the background of a host strain. Such sophisticated genetic manipulation allowed the researchers to target specific chromosomes in order to get a much more powerful genetic answer.
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