In individuals escalating to alcohol dependence, there is a complex interplay among predisposition genes (genes associated with risk), environmental factors, and history of alcohol exposure (Contet, 2012). These combined factors likely contribute to system-wide epigenetic alterations, post-translational modifications, and long-term allostatic changes in brain regions that underlie AUD (e.g. mesolimbic, extended amygdala, frontal cortex) (Contet, 2012). Recent progress in understanding genes and gene networks associated with AUD in brain has come from animal studies of excessive alcohol consumption and human alcoholics.
