Advances in the understanding of addiction highlight its genetic and neurobiological roots. Addictive substances can affect brain gene expression, but these changes are not permanent and can be affected by targeted medications and lifestyle changes, which offer new hope.
Research has shown that addiction has a genetic basis and is influenced by changes in the brain's genes for stress, which can be used through medication and lifestyle changes, providing new possibilities.
Many people are born looking for rewards and reacting. When you're hungry, your brain thinks of food as a reward, and when you're thirsty, you think water as a reward. However, addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in the brain, leading to intolerable cravings and reduced impulse control.
A common misconception is that addiction is the result of low willpower. However, over the past decade, knowledge and technology in the field of molecular genetics have revolutionized our basic understanding of addiction. Scientists andMedicalThe general consensus among health professionals is that there is a strong neurobiological and genetic basis for addiction.
As a behavioral neurogeneticist, I lead a team to investigate the molecular mechanisms of addiction, and I combine neuroscience with genetics to understand how alcohol and drugs affect the brain. Over the past decade, I have seen a change in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of addiction, largely due to a better understanding of how genes are dynamically regulated in the brain. New ways of thinking about addiction formation have the potential to change the way we treat **.
Alcohol and drugs affect the brain's genetic activity
Each of your brain cells has a genetic code stored in long strands of DNA. In order for all the DNA to fit into the cell, it needs to be tightly wrapped. This is achieved by winding DNA around a "spool" of proteins called histones. The region where the DNA is unwound contains active genes encoding proteins that have important functions within the cell.
When gene activity is altered, so are the proteins produced by the cell. This change can be connected from individual neurons in the brain to the way you behave. This genetic arrangement suggests that while your genes influence your brain development, which genes are on or off as you learn new things, are dynamic, and adjust to your daily needs.
Recent data from animal models suggest that alcohol and drug abuse directly affect changes in gene expression in areas of the brain that help drive memory and reward responses.
In every neuron in the brain, how tightly DNA is wound or bound to histones and other proteins determines which genes are expressed and which proteins are produced. **Karla Kaun and Vinald Francis, CC BY-ND
Addictive substances can alter gene expression in a variety of ways. They can alter which proteins bind to DNA to turn genes on and off, and which DN** segments are unraveled. They can alter the process by which DNA is read and translated into proteins, as well as the proteins that determine how cells use energy to function.
For example, alcohol causes another form of one gene in Drosophila andHumansIt is expressed in memory circuits, leading to changes in dopamine receptors and transcription factors involved in reward signaling and neuronal function. Similarly, cocaine also causes the rats' reward centers to express another form of the gene, causing them to seek more cocaine.
Exactly how these drugs cause changes in gene regulation is unknown. However, a direct link between alcohol consumption and changes in gene expression in mice provides clues. Acetate, a byproduct of alcohol breakdown in the liver, can cross the blood-brain barrier to release DNA from histones in mouse memory circuits.
Alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and opioids also activate important signaling pathways that are central regulators of metabolism. This suggests that they can also affect many aspects of neuronal function, and thus which genes are expressed.
Lifestyle alters brain gene activity
How addictive substances alter cellular function is complex. Before becoming a functional protein, the genes you were born with can be modified in a variety of ways, including exposure to alcohol and drugs. This complexity does not discourage researchers but empowers them because it provides evidence that changes in gene expression in the brain are not permanent. They can also be changed through medications and lifestyle choices.
Commonly prescribed medications for many psychiatric disorders can also affect gene expression. Antidepressants and mood stabilizers can alter the way DNA is modified and genes are expressed. For example, escitalopram, a commonly prescribed drug for depression, affects how much DNA winds and alters the expression of genes that are essential for brain plasticity.
In addition, mRNA-based genes can specifically alter the expression of genes to ** cancer and other diseases. In the future, we may find similar** approaches to alcohol and substance use disorders. These methods may potentially target important signaling pathways related to addiction, altering the function of brain circuits and the effects of alcohol and drugs on them.
Exercise and other lifestyle choices can influence gene regulation.
Lifestyle choices can also affect gene expression in the brain, although researchers don't yet know if they can alter the changes caused by addictive substances.
Just like alcohol and drugs, changes in diet can affect gene expression in many ways. In Drosophila, a high-sugar diet can reprogram the ability to taste sweetness by tapping into gene expression networks related to development.
Intensive meditation, even if it only lasts for one day, can affect gene regulation in your brain through a similar mechanism. Participating in a month of meditation reduces the expression of genes that affect inflammation, and experienced meditators can reduce inflammation genes after a day of intensive meditation.
Studies in animal models have also shown that locomotion alters gene expression by altering histones and molecular tags that are directly attached to DNA. This increases the activity of genes critical for neuronal activity and plasticity, supporting the idea that exercise can improve learning and memory and reduce the risk of dementia.
Starting with the January drought, many factors can have a profound impact on your brain biology. Take measures to reduce the consumption of alcohol and drugs, cultivateHealthA lifestyle that helps stabilize and brings lasting benefits to your physical and mental health.