Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin.
J Abnorm Psychol. 2018 Feb;127(2):190-201. doi: 10.1037/abn0000333.
GABRA2, the gene encoding the α2 subunit of the GABAA receptor, potentially plays a role in the etiology of problematic drinking, as GABRA2 genotype has been associated with subjective response to alcohol and other alcohol-related reward processes. The GABRA2 gene has also been associated with illicit drug use, but the extent to which associations with drug use are independent of associations with alcohol use remains unclear, partly because most previous research has used a cross-sectional design that cannot discriminate comorbidity at the between-person level and co-occurrence within-persons. The present study used a daily monitoring method that assessed the effects of GABRA2 variation on substance use as it occurred in the natural environment during emerging adulthood. Non-Hispanic European participants provided DNA samples and completed daily reports of alcohol and drug use for 1 month per year across 4 years (N = 28,263 unique observations of N = 318 participants). GABRA2 variants were associated with illicit drug use in both sober and intoxicated conditions. Moreover, the effect of GABRA2 variation on drug use was moderated by an individual's degree of intoxication. These findings are consistent with recent genetic and neuroscience research, and they suggest GABRA2 variation influences drug-seeking behavior through both alcohol-related and alcohol-independent pathways. (PsycINFO Database Record
GABRA2 基因，编码 GABA 受体的 α2 亚基，可能在问题性饮酒的病因学中发挥作用，因为 GABRA2 基因型与对酒精的主观反应和其他与酒精相关的奖励过程有关。GABRA2 基因也与非法药物使用有关，但与药物使用相关的程度是否独立于与酒精使用相关的程度尚不清楚，部分原因是大多数先前的研究使用了横断面设计，无法区分个体间的共病和个体内的同时发生。本研究使用了一种日常监测方法，评估了 GABRA2 变异对物质使用的影响，因为它在成年早期的自然环境中发生。非西班牙裔欧洲参与者提供了 DNA 样本，并在 4 年期间每年完成 1 个月的酒精和药物使用的日常报告（N = 318 名参与者的 28,263 个独特观察结果）。GABRA2 变体与清醒和醉酒状态下的非法药物使用有关。此外，GABRA2 变异对药物使用的影响受到个体醉酒程度的调节。这些发现与最近的遗传和神经科学研究一致，它们表明 GABRA2 变异通过与酒精相关和非酒精相关的途径影响觅药行为。
