Evidence for the importance of the "genotype" theory in alcohol seeking behavior: a commentary

Consensus of the literature points towards a neuropsychogenetic model of alcoholism. Evidence in both animals and humans tends to support the proposed "genotype" theory of alcohol-seeking behavior, whereby a predisposition to alcohol preference may be mediated in part by either innate (genetic) or environmentally (stress and/or alcohol) induced brain opioid peptide dysfunction. Potential therapeutic rationale involving the utilization of novel inhibitors of carboxypeptidase A (enkephalinase) which raise endogenous enkephalin levels and possess anti-alcohol seeking effects is emphasized.