Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a group of neuropsychiatric conditions manifesting due to excessive dependence on potential drugs of abuse such as psychostimulants, opioids including prescription opioids, alcohol, inhalants, etc. Experimental studies have generated enormous data in the area of SUDs, but outcomes from such data have remained largely fragmented. In this review, we attempt to coalesce these data points providing an important first step towards our understanding of the etiology of SUDs. We propose and describe a ‘core addictome’ pathway that behaves central to all SUDs. Besides, we also have made some notable observations paving way for several hypotheses; MECP2 behaves as a master switch during substance use; five distinct gene clusters were identified based on respective substance addiction; a central cluster of genes serves as a hub of the addiction pathway connecting all other substance addiction clusters. In addition to describing these findings, we have emphasized the importance of some candidate genes that are of substantial interest for further investigation and serve as high-value targets for translational efforts.

物质使用障碍 (SUD) 是一组因过度依赖潜在滥用药物而表现出来的神经精神疾病，例如精神兴奋剂、阿片类药物（包括处方阿片类药物）、酒精、吸入剂等。实验研究已经在 SUD 领域产生了大量数据，但此类数据的结果在很大程度上仍然是支离破碎的。在这篇综述中，我们尝试合并这些数据点，为我们理解 SUD 的病因学迈出了重要的第一步。我们提出并描述了一个“核心成瘾者”途径，该途径对所有 SUD 都至关重要。此外，我们还做了一些值得注意的观察，为几个假设铺平了道路； MECP2 在物质使用期间充当主开关；根据各自的物质成瘾确定了五个不同的基因簇；中心基因簇是连接所有其他物质成瘾簇的成瘾途径的枢纽。除了描述这些发现之外，我们还强调了一些候选基因的重要性，这些基因对进一步研究具有重大意义，并可作为转化工作的高价值目标。