The alpha rhythm is predominant when an individual is awake and relaxed, and has its maximum power in the eyes-closed condition over the occipital regions. Human alpha oscillations (during resting state as well as during cognitive processing) are related to higher cognitive function and brain maturation. Alpha activity in children starts only after 3 years of age, almost parallel to the development of speech, and the posterior dominant alpha rhythm continues to develop until the age of 16 (cf. Basar 2012). Many early EEG studies showed that alcoholics manifest less prevalent and lower alpha power compared with control subjects (for reviews, see Begleiter and Platz 1972; Propping et al. 1981). However, some studies failed to replicate this finding of low resting alpha power in alcoholics (Enoch et al. 1999; Fein and Allen 2005; Pollock et al. 1992). Researchers found that a decrease in slow alpha activity in alcoholics is more pronounced in relapsers than in those who maintain abstinence (Saletu-Zyhlarz et al. 2004). Further, gender- as well as ethnicity-related alpha findings have been reported in offspring of alcoholics (Ehlers and
