Inherited predisposition to alcoholism: Characteristics of sons of male alcoholics.

Abstract

Sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are at markedly heightened genetic risk for the development of alcohol abuse. Study of SOMAs could therefore conceivably increase the efficiency of research aimed at uncovering those heritable factors that predispose to alcoholism. SOMAs manifest observable behavioral, cognitive, and psychophysiological abnormalities while sober and react idiosyncratically to alcohol intoxication. They are most commonly described as conduct disordered and hyperactive, appear heir to a variety of deficits in verbal and abstract cognition, and perform more poorly in the academic environment. SOMAs are characterized by abnormal patterns of cued psychophysiological response, and appear more sensitive to the putatively reinforcing aspects of alcohol intoxication. Various methodological weaknesses permeate the relevant literature. Some straightforward improvements are suggested.

Event-Related Oscillations in Offspring of Alcoholics: Neurocognitive Disinhibition as a Risk for Alcoholism

“…This view is strengthened by our finding that the OA group has a weaker fronto-parietal interaction as observed in the topography of slow alpha activity (8-9 Hz) (see Figure 4). It is also known that children of alcoholics, similar to adult alcoholics, manifest neuropsychological or cognitive deficits that precede the onset of alcoholism (Schaeffer et al 1984;Drejer et al 1985;Tarter et al 1989;Pihl et al 1990, Pihl andBruce 1995;Peterson et al 1992;Knop et al 1993). Therefore, we propose that the neuro-cognitive deficits observed in the OA group, as elicited by decreased P3 amplitude and weaker oscillatory responses in low frequency bands perhaps predispose these high risk individuals to develop alcoholism and related disorders.…”

Reward circuitry dysfunction in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic syndromes: animal models and clinical findings

“…Contemporary theories addressing the pathophysiology of substance-use disorders highlight altered motivational states, cognitive control, inhibitory function, and decision-making, mediated in large part by dysfunctional output of mesolimbic and mesocortical brain systems [104-107]. Although the scope of this review is constrained to a consideration of reward processes, rather than to related constructs such as inhibition and impulsivity, it should be noted that the ‘impulsivity hypothesis’ of addiction vulnerability stresses shared neurobiology and patterns of heritance between risk for addiction disorders and conduct disorder [108], including evidence of intergenerational transmission of both alcoholism risk and impulsivity in large-scale twin studies [109], and common patterns of enhanced behavioral sensitivities to reward stimuli [110] and risky decisions [111,112]. …”

Endogenous Opioid Activity Is Associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Symptomology in Individuals with a Family History of Alcoholism

“…These findings have led investigators to examine the presence of a wide range of possible psychological as well as neurobiological mediators for the development of alcoholism in individuals with a positive family history (FHP) for alcoholism (Pihl et al 1990;Martin and Sher 1994;Baker and Stephenson 1995). A wide range of psychological differences have been specifically associated with FHP males relative to controls, including impulsivity (Saunders and Schuckit 1981;Schulsinger et al 1985), conduct disorder (Nylander and Rydelius 1982), antisocial personality with or without hyperactivity (Alterman et al 1983), attention deficit disorder (Gillen and Hesselbrock 1992;Deckel et al 1995), and aggressiveness (Windle 1990).…”