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A map to addictive behavior could be hidden inside the cryptic network of the human genome.

Kent Hutchison, a scientist at the Mind Research Network at the University of New Mexico, is determined to find it.

Using that map, a series of genes that indicates a predisposition to alcoholism or substance abuse, Hutchison hopes to find more effective ways to treat those disorders - and perhaps prevent them in the first place.

"The big question is how can we leverage the Human Genome Project to find better treatments for addiction," Hutchison said. "One of the main purposes of that project is to find personalized medicine, to find treatments geared toward the individual."

If a road map to addictive behavior is found, professionals can tailor treatments specifically to each individual with a mix of drugs and talk therapy, he said.

"If we really had a set of markers that show if someone is likely to become dependent, we could also help them not engage in that activity before they become addicted," Hutchison said.

And researchers can investigate which drugs work best on people who are genetically predisposed to addiction and which work best on people who are not.

For instance, some people become addicted because of structures or chemicals in their brains. Others might use alcohol or drugs to self-medicate, not because they are genetically prone to addiction but because they have some other disorder, Hutchison explained.

"Everybody is different," Hutchison said. "We're already seeing some of this tailored medicine happening on the small scale, but on a large scale - where patients will be able to check out their own genetic markers - that's only maybe four or five years away."

One goal for the federal government has been to find a technology and a company that can reduce the cost of a genetic map for an individual to about $1,000. Right now, it's about $800 for 1 million markers - and the full genome is about 3 billion markers long, Hutchison said.

The hope is that in the future patients can get genetically mapped in childhood so doctors can use tailored preventative medicine to make people more healthy, he said.

In the case of addiction, that likely comes down to a very small hunk of the genome, Hutchison said.

"Overall, we think probably 100-200 genetic variants are important in relation to addiction," Hutchison added.

Hutchison came to UNM in July from the University of Colorado in Boulder because of Albuquerque's reputation for research into addiction, he said.

He brought with him a handful of other researchers, a genetics lab - capable of mapping a million genes at a time - and about $6 million in federal grants to investigate treatment, responses, risk behavior and other aspects of addiction.

The group just started recruiting 200 people who are dependent on alcohol for the first study, which will match their genetic markers with brain chemistry.

In the study, researchers will look at subjects' brains in a CT scanner and see how addicted patients respond to literally a small drop of alcohol, compared with a small drop of juice, said Sarah Feldstein, director of the clinical study.

"They get a few drops of their preferred beverage, and we see what's in their brain and how all this is interconnected," Feldstein said.

Following the test, patients receive an hour of counseling to make sure they're not overwhelmed by the urge to drink, she said.

"We check people, we check their safety and everybody receives counseling," Feldstein said.

Results from the study will help scientists pinpoint the areas of the brain and genome that they most want to focus on.

From there, the group can test a variety of drugs on people who have the genetic markers for addiction and see which are most effective, Hutchison said.

"That will help us see if the medication is dampening the parts of the brain that we want it to," Hutchison said. "It can help us identify the drug that works best."

And once the group has pinned down which drugs work best on which genetic markers, the rest of the population will be able to use that information for their own treatment, he said.