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Genetic influences on the predisposition to complex behavioral or physiological traits can reflect genetic polymorphisms that lead to altered gene product function, and/or variations in gene expression levels. We have explored quantitative variations in an animal's alcohol consumption, using a genetical genomic/phenomic approach. In our studies, gene expression is correlated with amount of alcohol consumed, and genomic regions that regulate the alcohol consumption behavior and the quantitative levels of gene expression (behavioral and expression quantitative trait loci [QTL]) are determined and used as a filter to identify candidate genes predisposing the behavior. We determined QTLs for alcohol consumption using the LXS panel of recombinant inbred mice. We then identified genes that were: 1) differentially expressed between five high and five low alcohol-consuming lines or strains of mice; and 2) were physically located in, or had an expression QTL (eQTL) within the alcohol consumption QTLs. Comparison of mRNA and protein levels in brains of high and low alcohol consuming mice led us to a bioinformatic examination of potential regulation by microRNAs of an identified candidate transcript, Gnb1 (G protein beta subunit 1). We combined our current analysis with our earlier work identifying candidate genes for the alcohol consumption trait in mice, rats and humans. Our overall analysis leads us to postulate that the activity of the GABAergic system, and in particular GABA release and GABA receptor trafficking and signaling, which involves G protein function, contributes significantly to genetic variation in the predisposition to varying levels of alcohol consumption.

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Measurement of the Hall coe%cient in the Ba2Yl -Pr"Cu307-& system has revealed that an increase in Pr concentration reduces the Hall carrier number (1/eRH) and its strong temperature dependence. The Cu formal valence calculated from the Pr valence, which has been determined to be -+3. 5, shows a weakly decreasing dependence on Pr concentration. T, shows a stronger dependence on the Hall carrier number and the Cu-0 formal valence than in the oxygen-depleted Ba2YCu307-g system. The persistence of the chain band explains this observed difference, suggesting that the actual Cu-0 valence dependence of the 90-K superconductor is stronger than that of the 40-K superconductor.Of known Ba2[lanthanide]Cu307s compounds, only the Pr compound shows neither superconductivity nor metallic conduction, although it has an orthorhombic structure isomorphic to that of Ba2YCu307 (Refs. 1 and 2). Thus, the difference in the electronic and/or the crystal structure between these compounds might be a key parameter controlling superconductivity as well as normalstate properties of the high-T, copper oxides. It is known that a series of single-phase Ba2Y1-"Pr"Cu307-s can be synthesized. 34 They continuously range from superconductors to insulators. It is generally accepted that in high-T, copper oxides, the total carrier density is a crucial parameter by which the conduction properties are determined.There are several systems, for example,

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