Siblings of addicts...are you out there?
In families with a history of drug abuse, siblings who did not use drugs demonstrated similar brain patterns and poor self-control as their drug-addicted brothers and sisters, British researchers reported Thursday in the journal Science.
Siblings with a family history of substance use grew up in abusive homes, but only some became addicts, neuroscientist Karen Ersche and her colleagues from Cambridge University said.
Understanding why certain family members abstained from drugs while others didn’t is a complicated problem, Troiani explained. It could be as simple as they didn’t enjoy the experience of drinking or using drugs. It could also be something more complicated like they realized they had a problem early on.