Homozygosity at the dopamine D3 receptor gene is associated with opiate dependence (original) (raw)

Molecular Psychiatry volume 3, pages 333–336 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Anatomical, pharmacological and human post-mortem studies suggest the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) gene as a candidate for drug dependence. We thus performed an association study of the Bal I polymorphism at the DRD3 gene, including 54 opiate addicts and 70 controls. Opiate addicts had a higher sensation-seeking score (on the Zückerman scale) than controls (P = 0.001), particularly a subgroup (70%) who had a distinctly higher score, exceeding 24. There were no marked differences in genotypes between patients as a whole and controls. However, patients with a sensation-seeking score above 24 were more frequently homozygotes for both alleles than patients with a sensation-seeking score under 24 (P = 0.038) or controls (P = 0.034). Although obtained in a sample of limited size, these results suggest that the DRD3 gene may have a role in drug dependence susceptibility in individuals with high sensation-seeking scores. This hypothesis is consistent with the role of DRD3 in mediating responses to drugs of abuse in animals and the association of homozygosity at the Bal I polymorphism with drug abuse in schizophrenic patients (see companion article by Krebs et al).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

$259.00 per year

only $21.58 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service Hospitalo-Universitaire de Santé Mentale et Thérapeutique, Université René Descartes, Hôpital Sainte-Anne, Paris, France
    E Duaux, M-C Bourdel, H Lôo & M-F Poirier
  2. Service de Psychiatrie d'Adultes, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France
    P Gorwood & J Ades
  3. Unité de Neurobiologie et Pharmacologie Moléculaire (U109), Centre Paul Broca de l'INSERM, Paris, France
    N Griffon, F Sautel, P Sokoloff & J-C Schwartz

Authors

  1. E Duaux
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. P Gorwood
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  3. N Griffon
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  4. M-C Bourdel
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  5. F Sautel
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  6. P Sokoloff
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  7. J-C Schwartz
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  8. J Ades
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  9. H Lôo
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  10. M-F Poirier
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Duaux, E., Gorwood, P., Griffon, N. et al. Homozygosity at the dopamine D3 receptor gene is associated with opiate dependence.Mol Psychiatry 3, 333–336 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000409

Download citation

Keywords

This article is cited by