We know that there are people alive today who find it impossible to quit different kinds of behaviour once they have started it. What is it that makes one person quit cold turkey, and another smoke even while they are being treated for cancer?

Is there an addiction gene? Addiction in the genes is a hotly debated subject among scientists and researchers.

Scientists and researchers are going further back than ever before to unearth present truths. Addiction runs in the family. Again and again, they have found addictive behaviours carried down the family tree. This was their first clue that addiction may be hereditary.

There doesn’t appear to be a single ‘addict’ gene that causes specific types of people to fall into the addiction trap. There are however, several that combine to form a strong susceptibility to the behavioural patterns that addict’s exhibit. This is the addiction and genetics debate.

When a person with these genetic markers is exposed to a drug, or a habit, it can change the chemistry in their brain. This change leads to compulsive behaviour and eventual addiction. We are familiar with the concept that some illnesses – both physical and mental – can be hereditary, but it appears that this can also be applied to addiction.

Naturally, even if addiction is in the genes, there are other external factors that play their part. Why is it, for example, that a man becomes a drug addict, when his sister has never so much as smoked? External circumstances, stimuli and environmental factors also play their part in affecting people who are genetically prone to addiction.

The addiction and the genetic factor discussion will play on for years to come. The science is still quite new, and there are those out there that would prefer to blame addiction on personality disorders instead of genetics. Even if a definitive link is found, there is a still a long way to go before this information can be used to treat addiction sufferers and their families. For the time being at least, traditional addiction treatment and rehabilitation is still the most effective way to proceed.

Alcoholism, gambling, sexual and drug addiction could all be the result of inherited genes and generations of vulnerability. If you believe that addiction runs in the family, analyse yourself honestly. If it appears that you have a vulnerability to addictive behaviour, seek professional assistance. Obtaining assistance early on may help to limit any long-term damage.

Source: www.articlealley.com 5.5.2010