Neurophysiological Phenotypic Factors in the Development of Alcoholism

Abstract Alcoholism is clearly a genetically influenced disorder, but in many respects it is different from other disorders that follow a more traditional Mendelian mode of inheritance. In contrast to such disorders as cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s chorea, and sicklecell anemia, the development of alcoholism (at least in some individuals) depends on the interaction of genetically determined predisposing factors with environmentally determined precipitating factors. The search for genes is rather complicated because alcoholism is a common disorder with a number of features characteristic of complex diseases: Clinical heterogeneity. Alcoholism has a variable age of onset and can involve a number of different symptoms. Because it might develop late in life, a person’s status as an alcoholic could remain uncertain for a long period of time.