CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ALCOHOLISM

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The University of Connecticut Alcohol Research Center is dedicated to clinical studies of genetic, psychopathological, biological and behavioral aspects of alcoholism in a multivariate context. The variables that have been selected for investigation are related to previous theoretical formulations of the etiology of alcoholism, as well as those factors which are presumed to influence the natural history of the disorder in clinical populations (as well as individuals at high risk for developing acoholism). With a multivariate approach, we hope to develop a more precise definition of significant concepts, so that the clinical treatment of the alcoholic can be improved, and the evaluation of treatment efficacy made more rational. The variables are being explored in a series of parellel and interrelated studies. The research programs of the Alcohol Research Center involve a systematic examination of selected behavioral, demographic, genetic, psychopathological, biological, and brain and cognitive function variables in a variety of interrelated studies with clinical populations. The overriding purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between these variables and the alcohol dependence syndrome. Our initial series of investigations have sought to define these variables in the context of: (1) a study of the natural history of alcoholism subsequent to inpatient care (the "typology" study); (2) biological and pedigree studies of primary and secondary affective disorder in alcoholic patients and their relatives; (3) studies of cognitive function and the computerized EEG in alcoholic patients at intake and at 12-month follow-up; (4) multivariate studies of intravenous ethanol administration and stimulus control of drink-seeking behavior in alcoholic patients and controls; (5) pilot studies of nicotine metabolism in alcoholic and non-alcoholic smokers; and (6) pedigree studies, including genetic and psychosocial studies of offspring of alcoholic parents compared with controls (the "prospective" study). Proposed studies are designed to follow-up on a number of promising leads developed in the initial grant period.