TWIN & FAMILY STUDIES OF ACUTE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL

我们假设，对酒精急性反应的基因变异会影响一个人的饮酒习惯和酗酒风险。因此，我们预测个体对酒精的初始反应和急性适应都与酒精家族史（FHA）和近期饮酒史（RDH）相关。我们还假设，基因影响的表现可能随着大脑暴露于酒精浓度的变化而变化。我们提出了3个项目来检验我们的预测。每个项目都采用静脉（iv）酒精夹紧方法，在我们最近的研究中显示，能够保持呼吸酒精浓度（BrAC），因此大脑暴露于酒精的水平，随着时间的推移，几乎是恒定的，预先确定的。

We hypothesize that genetic variations in acute responses to alcohol influence a person's drinking habits and risk for alcoholism. Hence, we predict that an individual's initial response and acute adaptation to alcohol are both correlated with familial history for alcoholism (FHA) and recent drinking history (RDH). We also postulate that manifestation of genetic influences may vary as a function of the concentration of brain's exposure to alcohol. We propose 3 projects to test our predictions. Each project employs the intravenous (iv) alcohol clamping method, shown in our recent studies to be capable of maintaining breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), and hence the brain's exposure to alcohol, at nearly constant, predeterminal levels over time.