Caudate Volume in Offspring at Ultra High Risk for Alcohol Dependence: COMT Val158Met, DRD2, Externalizing Disorders, and Working Memory.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is emerging evidence that the increased susceptibility to developing alcohol and substance use disorders in those with a family history of Alcohol Dependence (AD) may be related to structural differences in brain circuits that influence the salience of rewards or modify the efficiency of information processing. Externalizing disorders of childhood including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct and Oppositional Disorders are a prominent feature of those with a positive family history. The caudate nuclei have been implicated in both the salience of rewards and in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence and these often antecedent childhood disorders.

Methods

Adolescent/young adult high and low-risk for AD offspring (N = 130) were studied using ma

SUBMITTER: Hill SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4214926 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature