Genetic Vulnerabilities to Methamphetamine Abuse and Psychosis?

Methamphetamine abuse is intimately tied to the effects of methamphetamine on the dopamine transporter. A synaptic protein, called “protein interacting with C kinase 1” (PICK1), is involved in the targeting, localization, and clustering of synaptic membrane proteins such as the dopamine transporter; PICK1 probably enhances dopamine transporter density and, thereby, uptake activity. Researchers in Japan examined potential associations between methamphetamine abuse and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to the PICK1 gene.

The investigators examined regions of the gene involved in PICK1 transcription in 208 methamphetamine abusers with psychosis and in 218 controls without personal or family histories of drug dependence or psychosis…