We do not have a full understanding of how SUD biology in model organisms relates to biology in humans. If we were to base genetic discovery for SUDs on non-human models, the utility of this approach would depend on the actual correspondence between relevant animal and human traits. But as for other psychiatric traits, this is very hard to establish. We can have animals that are more or less susceptible to developing substance self-administration, but we do not have the means to determine why this is so, or how the animal’s motivations map onto human systems.
