(Epi)genetic risk architectures of opioid dependent brain

With nearly 20,000 overdose deaths in 2014 alone, opioid addiction (OA) has emerged as one of the most pressing public health crises in recent US history. One-fifth of individuals who try heroin develop an addiction to opioids. Genetics is a major contributor to OA with an estimated 60% heritability, only somewhat less than schizophrenia (80%) which has recently seen substantial gains in identified underlying genetics. Yet, studies to date have failed to uncover most of the genes that predispose individuals to OA, leaving the overwhelming fraction of OA heritability unexplained. The proposed study takes a novel, integrated "omics-based" strategy to investigate the molecular basis of OA and uncover both genetic and epigenetic factors associated with opioid addiction. The premise for our... (for more see dbGaP study page.)