51 Alpha (8-13 Hz) represents the EEG waveform that predominates in an individual who is awake and alert, while

relaxed.51 Typically, α oscillations will greatly diminish or disappear during periods of high arousal. Individuals with the low-voltage α resting EEG trait appear to have an atypical EEG characterized by few or no α oscillations, resembling an EEG of increased arousal. Alcoholics tend to have low-amplitude α.52 However, high-voltage α has also been suggested as a potential risk factor for alcohol dependence. In two different studies, men with alcoholic fathers were more likely to have high-voltage α than men with no alcoholic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical relatives.53-55 This finding has also been SB216763 solubility dmso observed in a sample of women at high risk for alcoholism.56 Taken together, these studies suggest that subjects at high risk for the development of alcoholism may be characterized by an atypical variation of α. Various other attributes of EEG have

also been implicated. In Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical one study, young children (11 to 13 years old) of alcoholic parents were found to have more relative fast (β, >18 Hz) activity in their EEG than children without alcoholic parents.57 In a recent study examining older adults with alcoholic relatives, sons of alcoholics were found to have elevated β amplitudes in specific regions of the brain58; however, other studies Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical have not observed this finding.42,59 Both linkage and candidate gene analysis that incorporate various aspects of EEG are currently being explored in connection with certain subtypes Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (endophenotypes) of alcohol dependence. Alcohol craving Alcohol craving has been defined as a strong desire to consume alcohol and has been associated with loss

of control over drinking, which is part of the alcohol dependence syndrome, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Although there has been some controversy over the definition and use of the term, the endophenotype of craving is a construct that is central to alcohol dependence and is often a target of intervention effort.60-63 Although there has been controversy over the measurement of subjective “craving” in humans, craving 17-DMAG (Alvespimycin) HCl and loss of control drinking have been biologically linked to the actions of alcohol on the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways in the brain (the neural substrates that putatively underlie the attribution of incentive salience to alcohol and other drugs of abuse), which is thought to be an important factor in the etiology of alcohol dependence. Individual differences in the development of loss of control drinking and the ability to stop drinking are likely to be related to genetic factors that influence the effects of alcohol on mesolimbic dopamine activation and craving. A few studies have investigated the pharmacological and genetic underpinnings of craving for alcohol.