Gene that Links teenage drinking

Scientists have figured out the brain processes involving teenage alcohol abuse and believe they can explain why some young people have more of a tendency to binge drink then others. A study that was published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences journal found a gene that plays a role in controlling how alcohol stimulates the brain to release dopamine, this gene is RASGRF-2.  "If people have a genetic variation of the RASGRF-2 gene, alcohol gives them a stronger sense of reward, making them more likely to be heavy drinkers," said Gunter Schumann who was a leader of the study.  Alcohol and other addictive drugs trigger the brain’s dopamine systems, which provides feeling of pleasure and reward. The study looked at mice that were modified to have the RASGRF-2 gene removed. It was found the lack of RASGRF-2 was linked to a major decrease in alcohol seeking activity.  The mice that was lacking the gene was found to have no reward since the brain was not releasing dopamine. 663 14-year-old boys were analyzed by brain scans. The findings suggest people with a genetic variation of the RASGRF-2 gene releases more dopamine when anticipating a reward. After two years the same group of boys now 16 years old were analyzed again finding that the ones with the RASGRF-2 gene drank more often at the age of 16 than those with out it.  

The article:

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-gene-teenage-binge-drinking-222557975--sector.html

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