The Deep Roots of Addiction: A Comparative Perspective

Addiction is a debilitating condition that extracts enormous social and economic tolls. Despite several decades of research, our knowledge of its etiology, preventive measures, and treatments is limited. A relatively recent research field with the potential to provide a more holistic understanding, and subsequently treatments, takes a phylogenetic view of addiction. This perspective is based on deep homologies at the genetic, proteomic, and behavioral levels, which are shared across all metazoan life; particularly those organisms faced with plant secondary metabolites as defensive compounds against insect herbivory. These addictive alkaloids, such as nicotine, cocaine, or cathinone, are commonly referred to as “human drugs of abuse” even though humans had little to no role in the co-evolutionary processes that determined their initial emergence or continued selection. This commentary discusses the overwhelming homologies of addictive alkaloid effects on neural systems across a wide range of taxa, as we aim to develop a broader comparative view of the “addicted brain.” Taking nicotine as an example, homologous physiological responses to this compound identify common underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that advocate for the adoption of a phylogenetic view of addiction.