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. 1982 Dec;79(24):7900–7903. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.24.7900

Event-related brain potentials are different in individuals at high and low risk for developing alcoholism.

R Elmasian, H Neville, D Woods, M Schuckit, F Bloom
PMCID: PMC347457  PMID: 6961459

Abstract

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from normal drinkers with and without a family history of alcoholism were compared. Three separate groups of 10 subjects each (5 with and 5 without a family history of alcoholism) ingested either a placebo or ethanol at 0.56 or 0.94 g/kg. In each comparison, ERP components elicited in conjunction with subjects' decisions about task-relevant stimuli were of significantly reduced amplitude in individuals with a family history of alcoholism. Additionally, both the latency of the positive component and reaction times to correctly detected targets were significantly later in individuals with a positive history of alcoholism than in those without such a history. These group differences were apparent both with and without a challenge of alcohol. The data suggest that brain functions are different in individuals at high and low risk for the development of alcoholism (i.e., those with and without a family history of alcoholism, respectively).

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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