Assessment of psychophysiological characteristics and polymorphism of the gene SCN9A in the formation of addictive behavior

In this paper, the interrelationships of pain sensitivity indicators, gender identity and genetic characteristics of the examined persons at different stages of addictive behavior were analyzed. Materials and methods. The study included 248 persons: 108 patients with substance addiction, 34 persons from the risk group, 106 persons in the control group. Using the Sandra Bam questionnaire, a gender index was identified and a gender identity was identified. Thresholds of pain sensitivity and tolerability of pain were identified using our patented method of tensoalgometry. Genotyping of the polymorphic variant rs6746030 of the SCN9A gene was performed by real-time PCR using competing TaqMan probes. Results. Female persons with mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances are characterized by the decrease in the severity of the feminine orientation of gender identity. The relationship between gender identity and pain sensitivity in substance dependent individuals is shown: for higher values of the lower pain threshold, a decrease in femininity in women and masculinity in men was characteristic...