GABRA2 and the Pharmacokinetics of Risk for Alcoholism (GPRA)

This study will assess whether the presence of a particular form of a gene, GABRA2, affects the functional responses of the human brain to alcohol administration and will evaluate that relationship in the context of factors known to increase the risk for future alcoholism.

Each subject completed a total of 2 2.8 hr-long clamping sessions.Within each session, procedures differed only by the content of the infusate. In one session, 6% ethanol was infused. In the other session, only vehicle was infused, quantifying the placebo response for every subject. The order of alcohol or placebo sessions was counterbalanced; subjects were blind to which session was which; sessions were scheduled to occur approximately 2 weeks apart. Measures were collected before, and at beginning and end of infusion, and included subjective perceptions, EMG, EEG, stop-signal performance, eye movements, and auditory responses. Design allowed analysis of effect of alcohol vs placebo, initial effect of alcohol and acute tolerance to alcohol.