M R Munafò

..We examined whether a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the OPRM1 gene is associated with cessation and whether this variant moderates the effects of higher doses of NRT on abstinence...

....

..There was some evidence for increased positive mood. Modification of emotional perception may lead to an increase in positive affect...

..Previous studies have typically relied on self-reported smoking behavior, which may not fully capture interindividual variation in tobacco exposure...

..II Amongst smokers who fail to quit at six months, motivation to make another quit attempt is lower when informed that their oral dose of NRT was tailored to genotype rather than phenotype...

..The general consensus is that smoking cessation leads to some degree of weight gain, although considerable disagreement remains regarding the magnitude and duration of this gain...

..Future studies should explore this possibility in more detail, including whether these relationships differ in clinical and nonclinical samples...

....

..There remains the possibility that the variant influences the NEO personality questionnaire measure of Neuroticism. However, a large, well-powered primary study is required to test this hypothesis directly and adequately...

..Our data, therefore, provide partial support for our primary hypothesis and extend on previous work which suggests a role for variation at the DRD4 locus in modulating reactivity to drug-related cues...

..We also investigated the association of the COMT genotype with withdrawal and mood symptoms, to identify possible mediating mechanisms by which the COMT genotype might influence response to NRT...

..There is a biological basis for considering that this association differs by sex, and differences in subpopulations might explain some of the contradictory evidence...

..We therefore attempted to replicate our previous finding of an association between the DRD2 rs1800497 genotype and response to NRT in a new, larger cohort, with greater statistical power...

..Here we discuss the potential utility of genetic information in determining the causal basis of the relationship of cigarette smoking and depression...

..While the COMT gene is therefore one of the more promising candidate genes for smoking behavior, some inconsistencies have begun to emerge...

..To assess the impact of plain packaging on visual attention towards health warning information on cigarette packs...

..We investigated the potential association of rs1051730 genotype with reduced likelihood of smoking cessation in 2 cohorts of treatment-seeking smokers in primary care in the United Kingdom...

..At the same time, evidence from other fields indicates that the genetic architecture of personality is likely to consist of the combined effect of many hundreds, if not thousands, of small effect loci...

..We also review future research horizons and the direction which studies of this kind are likely to take in the near future...

..In particular, future studies that need to be conducted before such research is translated into clinical practice and potential limitations and barriers to this translation are described...

..We found no evidence that the strength of these associations varied with year of publication...

..Males also were more likely than females to be current smokers, and increasing age reduced the likelihood of being a current smoker, which is consistent with an attempt by a subset of smokers in the cohort to subsequently stop smoking...

..Future studies should also investigate the role of OPRM1 genotype and smoking cessation on other appetitive and reward behaviours such as alcohol consumption...

..Smoking cessation programmes should therefore consider incorporating follow-up support to promote weight loss among those who successfully stop smoking...

..We discuss possible mechanisms for this association, and suggest factors that may account for the observed sex differences in this association, and the discrepancy between our results and some previous reports...

..Examples of how these approaches may improve our understanding of how genetic associations with behavioural and psychiatric phenotypes obtain are given...

....

....

....

..We evaluated the magnitude of the reported associations between amygdala activation and the serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and the likely effect size of this relationship...

..Two variants in the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene have been reported to be associated with human approach-related traits such as novelty seeking and extraversion. However, the strength of evidence for this association remains uncertain...

..We sought to ascertain the strength of evidence for association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and unipolar depression...

..Association analyses and replications should take place at the level of the gene, rather than at the level of SNP, haplotype, or functional variant. Meta-analysis would then be carried out on the basis of the combination of P-values...

..Unlike our previous report, we did not observe evidence of sex differences in these effects. Most importantly, we did not observe any evidence that these effects were due to expectancy effects associated with alcohol consumption...

..There was no evidence that alcohol altered the processing of angry facial expressions. Future studies should examine effects of alcohol expectancy and investigate the effects of alcohol on the miscategorisation of emotional expressions...

..We sought to address the question of whether trait neuroticism mediates the putative association between this polymorphism and lifetime major depression in adults drawn from the general population...

..086). Our data provide tentative support for a moderating influence of 5HTT genotype on attentional bias for smoking-related stimuli in ex-smokers. This finding may account for inconsistent reports of attentional bias among ex-smokers...

....

..In addition, single-gene tests are unlikely to be cost-effective, partly because the predictive value of these tests is likely to be modest...

..One mechanism by which alcohol consumption may increase aggressive behaviour is via alterations in the processing of emotional facial cues...

..We also sought to determine whether changes in attentional bias were associated with changes in subsequent craving and cue reactivity...

..In addition, among non-abstinent smokers, females demonstrated higher taste thresholds (i.e. reduced sensitivity) for salt than males, but this sex difference was not observed among abstinent smokers...

....

..D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor agonist, has been shown to facilitate extinction of learned fear in rats and augment exposure-based treatment in some anxiety disorders in man...

..Despite this, there are no experimental data that investigate this possibility. We therefore explored the relationship between acute alcohol consumption and ratings of attractiveness of facial stimuli...

..To investigate the relationship between smoking status and continuously distributed depressed mood among a cohort of adolescents...

....