The TaqIA single nucleotide variant (SNV) has been tested for association with addictions in a huge number of studies. TaqIA is located in the ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1 gene (ANKK1) that codes for a receptor interacting protein kinase. ANKK1 maps on the NTAD cluster along with the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2), the tetratricopeptide repeat domain 12 (TTC12) and the neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) genes. The four genes have been associated with addictions, although TTC12 and ANKK1 showed the strongest associations. In silico and in vitro studies revealed that ANKK1 is functionally related to the dopaminergic system, in particular with DRD2. In antisocial alcoholism, epistasis between ANKK1 TaqIA and DRD2 C957T SNVs has been described. This clinical finding has been supported by the study of ANKK1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of alcoholic patients and controls. Regarding the ANKK1 protein, there is direct evidence of its location in adult and developing central nervous system. Together, these findings of the ANKK1 gene and its protein suggest that the TaqIA SNV is a marker of brain differences, both in structure and in dopaminergic function, that increase individual risk to addiction development.

Nowadays, there are several human attachment measures, most in the form of questionnaires that assess adult attachment styles. This study investigates the use of Feeney, Noller, Hanrahan, Sperling and Berman’s five-factors Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ, 1994), based on Bartholomew’s four-factors model (1991), and Hazan and Shaver’s three-factors model (1987). Nevertheless, no robust study has explored the ASQ questionnaire in Spanish compared to other cultures, such as Italian and Japanese. Therefore, the linguistic translation of the Spanish version of the ASQ was performed, based on the back-translation methodology. The results indicate that 5-factors ASQ Spanish version explains 43.67% of the variance, similar to the original English-Australian ASQ version. The Italian and Japanese versions explain 49.37% and 52.27% of the variance, respectively. No age correlation for any ASQ factors in the Japanese sample was found; meanwhile, the Spanish and Italian cultures showed a positive correlation with age and “Confidence” and negative correlation with age and “Relationships as Secondary” ASQ factors. Some transcultural differences and possible research approaches are addressed.