In light of the significance of subjective response to alcohol as a putative biobehavioral marker of alcoholism risk2, the objective of this manuscript is three-fold. First is to provide a critical review the empirical literature on subjective response to alcohol and to discuss the rationale for its conceptualization as an endophenotype for alcoholism. Second is to examine the literature on the neurobiological substrates and associated genetic factors subserving individual differences in subjective response to alcohol. This will be done by systematically considering two important pharmacological processes relevant to alcohol’s biobehavioral effects, namely pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Third is to discuss the treatment implications of considering subjective responses to alcohol as endophenotypes and to propose a framework for conceptualizing and systematically integrating endophenotypes into treatment approaches for alcoholism. Finally, limitations and future directions will be discussed.
