Addiction

[denniswrenn]

Are there certain genes the human has that makes the person apt to being addicted to something?

I assume there are...(reason explained later)

there are two people A and B.

A is Aa(heterozygus(addicted with one dominant and one recessive allele)) and person B is aa(homozygus ressecive)


here is what the cross looks like(when they reproduce)


_a_a_
A |Aa_Aa|
a |aa_aa|




that means 1:1 - 1:1 phenotype - genotype.

so, lets say my sister is heterozygus, and my brother is unknown, what is the chance that I am homozygus recessive?

is it 100%(if my brother(who is older than me) is heterozygus) or is it 50%(my brother is homozygus recessive)?

and is there anyway I can tell?

Reason:

My sister is obviously Aa(for certain reasons), and my mom is Aa(pretty sure about it, because I am aa), and my dad is aa(he has never been addicted to cigarettes or anything for that matter), and I don't know about my brother,
but me, I've never been addicted to anything in my life, which is why I assume I am aa.

if you haven't taken a biology course, this probably won't make much sense to you... but this is the easiest way I could explain it without having to type too much.


Incase you missed it, my question(s) were:

Is there a gene in the human body that controls addiction?

if so:

is there anyway you can find out which you are(heterozygus, or homozygus dominant/recessive)?


Thanks,
Dennis

[Guv]

DennisWrenn, my experiences and observations indicate that you are at least partially correct, but that it is not that simple. I am sure that it involves more than one gene and the simple stuff they taught us in High School biology.

First, I suspect that there is an "addict personality." This is probably partially genetic and partially environmental. It seems to me that personality traits are too complex to be controlled by a single gene.

Second, there seems to be a biochemical component of addition, which determines the substances that are addictive for a person with an addict personality. The biochemical component is probably determined almost entirely by genetics, but once again is likely to involve more than one gene.

So I am agreeing with you that genetics is a primary culprit in addiction. I find it hard to believe that there is one gene (or even a few) responsible for it.

My girl friend and I are typical of many people I have known. She just does not have an addictive personality. She smoked for many years, and when it became known that it was potentially life threatening, she quit cold turkey with very little effort. I have an addict personality, and it took me about two very difficult years to give up cigarettes. It has been 25 years since I quit, and I still crave them now and then.

There was a period in my life when I drank a lot due to having a group of friends that were heavy drinkers. After moving to another city, I almost stopped drinking entirely. It seems that alcohol was just not the substance that fit my body chemistry, but cigarettes were. I tried marijuana quite a few times without apparent effects, but peyote mushrooms sent me on quite an interesting trip the only time I experimented with them. Neither of those substances seem to trigger my addictive personality, but I have known people who were seriously addicted to marijuana.

I have seen others similar to me and my girl friend: People who handle one substance, but not another; Others who seem to be able to experiment with almost anything and not get hooked. I have become convinced that body chemistry has a lot to do with addiction. Note that body chemistry is probably as unique as fingerprints.

I do believe that an individual can beat an addiction. There are many people who have, so to paraphrase fortune tellers, the genes impel, but do not compel addiction.

what is there for me to be addicted too?

I like drinking soda's.... since there here, I'll drink them, but if I didn't have them, I wouldn't need them... I don't smoke, don't drink(well I'm only 14, so thats a major part of the previous two)...

I can't think of any substance that I am addicted to....

if you can think of something, and I agree.... well... it won't mean much, but I'll fix my first post.....

[barrk]

I'm definitely addicted to VB-World.

me too, but VBW's not a substance :)


but if John could manage to make it into one..... he would be richer than all the tobacco companies combined.... ;)

[parksie]

Definitely...if he's not already making enough from vB ;)

[nadine]

[i]
I can't think of any substance that I am addicted to....

if you can think of something, and I agree.... well... it won't mean much, but I'll fix my first post..... [/B]
I can identify with what you are saying. When I was your age (not to sound condescending), I had a similar attitude. Since then I have found various things that I risk being addicted to. In conjunction to addictions, I have found that I am prone to certain obsessive behaviors. Some addictions/obsessions are obviously bad and others can seems benign but still be a problem. For example, I love to read. You would think that is a healthy thing. However, when I am reading every spare moment I have, then that is indicative of a problem, an imbalance. It indicates that I am trying to escape from something, usually life in general.

The key is to be able to have a realistic view of yourself and your life, not assume you are immune to things, and learn to watch for warning signs in yourself and others. Easier said then done.

Okay, done preaching....man, I'm on a soap box roll today! :)