A neurobiological pathway to smoking in adolescence: TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 variants and reward response

The TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 gene-cluster has been implicated in adult smoking. Here, we investigated the contribution of individual genes in the TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 cluster in smoking and their association with smoking-associated reward processing in adolescence. A meta-analysis of TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 variants and self-reported smoking behaviours was performed in four European adolescent cohorts (N  = 14,084). The minor G-allele of rs2236709, mapping TTC12, was associated with self-reported smoking (p = 5.0 × 10−4) and higher plasma cotinine levels (p = 7.0 × 10−5).

Source: European Neuropsychopharmacology - August 11, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Christine Macare, Francesca Ducci, Yuning Zhang, Barbara Ruggeri, Tianye Jia, Marika Kaakinen, Gursharan Kalsi, Pimphen Charoen, Filippo Casoni, Jan Peters, Uli Bromberg, Matthew Hill, Jessica Buxton, Alexandra Blakemore, Juha Veijola, Christian B üchel, Source Type: research