About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about some factors which contribute to differences in addiction vulnerability, focusing in particular on: (i) reiterating the phenomenon that only around 15% of drug users will develop a substance abuse disorder; (ii) the ability for modern research techniques, such as genome-wide association studies, to outline some factors which may contribute to addiction susceptibility; (iii) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNIPs) as differences between individuals’ genetic code by just one ‘letter’; (iv) the presence of SNIPs which indicate addiction susceptibility, embedded in genes which code for receptors, transporter proteins, or enzymes which metabolise drugs; (v) SNIPs which are directly associated with decreased susceptibility to alcoholism and their impact on enzyme functions, which result in an accumulation of acetaldehyde in the blood after alcohol consumption; (vi) the impact of traumatic experiences on increasing susceptibility to substance use disorders by increasing output of stress hormones like cortisol.

About the lecturer

Dr Lauren Burgeno is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford. Dr Burgeno’s research interests are in the mechanisms by which striatal acetylcholine gates cue-elicited dopamine release and how this contributes to addiction related behaviour. Some of Dr Burgeno’s recent publications include 'Time-dependent assessment of stimulus-evoked regional dopamine release' (2019) and 'Genetic isolation of hypothalamic neurons that regulate context-specific male social behaviour' (2016).