Gene-Environment Interplay in Substance Use Disorders (R03)

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The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism seek to stimulate and expand research on the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the genesis, course, and outcomes of substance and alcohol use disorders (SUDs). Previous work in genetic epidemiology and molecular genetics has established that SUDs are highly heritable, developmental disorders with important genetic substrates. Building on these findings, new studies using genetically informative approaches are needed to elucidate the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors in developmental trajectories of SUDs and comorbid conditions, deepen and refine phenotypic definitions of SUDs, and meet the methodologic challenges of the field. Such studies hold great potential to promote understanding of the true contributions of both genetic and environmental factors to initiation, progression, comorbidity, adverse outcomes, and desistance of SUDs; to elucidate mechanisms of risk; and to enhance opportunities for translation to treatment, prevention, gene-finding and molecular studies.

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