For an individual to enter an addictive process involves both their social environment and their individual vulnerability factors, which involve both personality and genetic components. Advances in research have identified genes and pathways involved in the process of addiction, leading to the description of common molecular mechanisms in drug dependencies.
On October 7th and 8th 2009, at S’Agaró (Girona), The Esteve Foundation organized the Third Esteve Discussion Group, which looked at the genetics of drug addiction. Rachel Tyndale, from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health en Toronto (Canada), was the chairperson of the meeting, in which the following experts also participated:
David Goldman
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, United States
Mary Jeanne Kreek
Laboratory of Biology of Addictive Diseases, Rockefeller University, United States
Andreas Heinz
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Germany
Jaakko Kaprio
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
Ming Li
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia, United States
Marcus Munafo
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Manki Ho
Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Canada
