A growing body of evidence suggests that genetic variation underlies inter-individual variability in the response to drugs, including stimulant drugs. Stimulant drugs produce behavioral and subjective effects that include increased vigilance and attention, and feelings of energy and euphoria (Lamb and Henningfield 1994; Martin et al. 1971; Sevak et al. 2009). However, there is substantial individual variation in these responses (Brown et al. 1978; de Wit et al. 1986; Holdstock and de Wit 2001), and some of this variation has been shown to be heritable (Crabbe et al. 1983; Nurnberger et al. 1982). Genetic variation in the response to stimulants may contribute to the potential to develop drug abuse (Fergusson et al. 2003; Haertzen et al. 1983), and may also be relevant for therapeutic uses of stimulants.
