Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Neurogenetics Laboratory, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, R 30, Toronto, ON M5T1R8, Canada.
Addiction. 2009 Sep;104(9):1454-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02671.x.
To summarize and discuss findings from genetic studies conducted on pathological gambling (PG).
Searches were conducted on PubMed and PsychInfo databases using the keywords: 'gambling and genes', 'gambling and family' and 'gambling and genetics', yielding 18 original research articles investigating the genetics of PG.
Twin studies using the Vietnam Era Twin Registry have found that: (i) the heritability of PG is estimated to be 50-60%; (ii) PG and subclinical PG are a continuum of the same disorder; (iii) PG shares genetic vulnerability factors with antisocial behaviours, alcohol dependence and major depressive disorder; (iv) genetic factors underlie the association between exposure to traumatic life-events and PG. Molecular genetic investigations on PG are at an early stage and published studies have reported associations with genes involved in the brain's reward and impulse control systems.
Despite the paucity of studies in this area, published studies have provided considerable evidence of the influence of genetic factors on PG and its complex interaction with other psychiatric disorders and environmental factors. The next step would be to investigate the association and interaction of these variables in larger molecular genetic studies with subphenotypes that underlie PG. Results from family and genetic investigations corroborate further the importance of understanding the biological underpinnings of PG in the development of more specific treatment and prevention strategies.
总结和讨论病理性赌博（PG）遗传研究的结果。
在 PubMed 和 PsychInfo 数据库中使用关键词：“赌博和基因”、“赌博和家庭”和“赌博和遗传学”进行搜索，共获得 18 篇关于 PG 遗传学的原始研究文章。
使用越南时代双胞胎登记处进行的双胞胎研究发现：（i）PG 的遗传率估计为 50-60%；（ii）PG 和亚临床 PG 是同一疾病的连续体；（iii）PG 与反社会行为、酒精依赖和重度抑郁症共享遗传易感性因素；（iv）遗传因素是创伤性生活事件与 PG 之间关联的基础。PG 的分子遗传学研究还处于早期阶段，已发表的研究报告与涉及大脑奖励和冲动控制系统的基因存在关联。
尽管该领域的研究较少，但已发表的研究为遗传因素对 PG 的影响及其与其他精神障碍和环境因素的复杂相互作用提供了充分证据。下一步将在更大的分子遗传学研究中，针对亚表型，调查这些变量的关联和相互作用，这些亚表型是 PG 的基础。家族和遗传研究的结果进一步证实了理解 PG 生物学基础对制定更具体的治疗和预防策略的重要性。
