In the future, we hope to replicate these findings in subject samples characterized by other forms of substance dependence or personality (e.g., borderline personality disorder) risk. In addition, in place of the DSM-IV clinical diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder, we might ask whether other indices of antisocial personality or impulsivity would similarly associate with GABRA2 genotype and with the adverse effects of obesity on the brain. The result may be an expanded theoretical model—not unlike models now discussed in the alcohol research literature--in which impulsivity and conduct problems are viewed as endophenotypes which promote obesity, impair its treatment, and exacerbate its course and complications.
