the primary cortical motor areas (Postuma and Dagher, 2006; Grahn et al., 2008). Recent neurobiological ideas of alcoholism (Depoy et al., 2013) suggest that there may be diminished executive effects on alcohol seeking and behavior and, rather, a shift to greater striatal control over goal-directed rewarded behaviors that may be critical in progress of becoming an alcoholic. Our finding of alterations in excitatory and inhibitory receptor subunit mRNA expression in the caudate might constitute a part of the underlying neuropathological mechanisms of the shift in striatal function of alcoholics.
