nature of addiction at the behavioral level. Thus, one cannot only associate certain genes and gene products with the propensity for alcoholism but we can now understand the manner in which the environment (including drinking history) can, via epigenetic mechanisms, modulate the individualized consequences resulting from genetic makeup. The goal of our research must increasingly progress from studies focused on either the world of molecules or the world of behavior, to studies that more successfully bridge the divide. One of the more contentious issues in the addiction field (and society at large) has been the emergence of a disease model of addiction, in which uncontrolled drug use is viewed as a pathology grounded in physical changes in molecules, comparable to those underlying, for example hypertension or diabetes, rather than a lack of ‘will power’. The identification of physical changes in the nervous system, such as those described for the BK channel, make the disease model more plausible to many. Finally, the alcohol field is struggling with a relatively new dynamic; it is becoming clear that alcohol use can have beneficial as well as damaging influences on health [82] and this makes a proper perspective on alcohol and health more complex
