Neurobiological bases of predisposition to the development of opiate addiction

The range of individual differences in sensitivity to the pharmacological effects of psychoactive substances, especially opiates, is large. Understanding of the processes that control individual differences in the development of opiate addiction is very important for the identification of risk factors and development of effective prophylactics and therapeutic programs. We review the neurobiological bases of the predisposition to the development of opiate addiction. We also focus on the perspectives of studies of the role of the brain nitrergic system in the individual sensitivity to development of opiate addiction.