Pharmacogenetics of alcohol's CNS effect: implications for the etiology of alcoholism

The electroencephalogram (EEG) offers several advantages for genetics, because it combines trait and state characteristics. In a twin study it could be demonstrated that the effect of an acute ethanol dose on the CNS as assessed by the EEG is under genetic control. Among the various genetically determined variants of the EEG, the poorly synchronized alpha EEG exhibits the most pronounced response. The examination of a series of alcoholics of both sexes as well as first-degree relatives of them revealed that in females the poorly synchronized alpha EEG may be a disposing factor for alcoholism. This result supports the idea that the disposition to alcoholism is under genetic influence not only at the metabolic but also at the pharmacodynamic level.