Pharmacogenetic approaches to drug dependence

The aim of this volume is to bring together information about both the neurochemical mechanisms associated with the actions of drugs of abuse and the psychopharmacological and behavioural effects of these drugs. One approach that is proving to be quite useful for bringing together these two very diverse fields is the use of classical pharmacogenetic techniques. Pharmacogenetics is defined as the study of genetic and environmental factors underlying individual differences in response to pharmacological or toxicological agents. Much of the early work in this field dealt with genetic differences in drug metabolism and other pharmacokinetic parameters [1]. More recently, however, attention has been directed towards understanding the implications of genetic differences associated with pharmacodynamic parameters mediating the actions of drugs. This paper discusses the use of pharmacogenetic techniques in drug abuse research. It presents an overview of some of the more common genetic techniques available for use in drug research and provides some examples from research projects that have employed these approaches.