• Special Issue Topic

    The Biological Basis of Substance Use Disorders

    Submission Deadline: January 01, 2023

    Guest Editor

    Dr. Richard M. Sherva E-Mail

    Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Research Keywords: psychiatric genetics; substance use disorders; alzheimer’s disease; statistical genetics


    About the Special Issue

    Substance use disorders, ranging from nicotine addiction to the current opiate epidemic, are a profound public health burden. Although human and animal studies have made advances towards understanding the biological systems driving substance use, misuse, addiction, and recovery, effective prevention and treatment strategies are still lacking. A better understanding of the psychological and neurological factors driving addiction risk, including its underlying genes and regulatory mechanisms, may lead to additional targets for and a more personalized approach to treatment.

    Keywords: substance use disorders; addiction; personalized medicine; psychiatric genetics; neurology; pharmacokinetics

    Call for Papers

    Published Articles

    Open Access
    Original Article
    Genome-wide association study of phenotypes measuring progression from first cocaine or opioid use to dependence reveals novel risk genes
    Aim: Substance use disorders (SUD) result in substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Opioids, and to a lesser extent cocaine, contribute to a large percentage of this health burden. Despite their high heritability, few g [...] Read more.
    Richard Sherva ... Lindsay A. Farrer
    Published: February 28, 2021 Explor Med. 2021;2:60–73
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2021.00032
    View:2154
    Download:45
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Original Article
    A machine learning approach to identify correlates of current e-cigarette use in Canada
    Aim: Popularity of electronic cigarettes (i.e. e-cigarettes) is soaring in Canada. Understanding person-level correlates of current e-cigarette use (vaping) is crucial to guide tobacco policy, but prior studies have not fully iden [...] Read more.
    Rui Fu ... Michael Chaiton
    Published: February 28, 2021 Explor Med. 2021;2:74–85
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2021.00033
    View:1778
    Download:30
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Placental OPRM1 DNA methylation and associations with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, a pilot study
    Aim: Epigenetic variation of DNA methylation of the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) has been identified in the blood and saliva of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome  [...] Read more.
    Elisha M. Wachman ... Huiping Zhang
    Published: June 29, 2020 Explor Med. 2020;1:124–135
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2020.00009
    View:2542
    Download:39
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Identifying factors associated with opioid cessation in a biracial sample using machine learning
    Aim: Racial disparities in opioid use disorder (OUD) management exist, however, and there is limited research on factors that influence opioid cessation in different population groups. Methods: We employed multiple machine  [...] Read more.
    Jiayi W. Cox ... Lindsay A. Farrer
    Published: February 29, 2020 Explor Med. 2020;1:27–41
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2020.00003
    View:3446
    Download:72