In contrast to previous research, rs1799971 was not significantly associated with any measure of alcohol sensitivity or alcohol use, with the exception of lower levels of maximum alcohol-related sedation reported during the alcohol challenge session. The rs1799971 variant has more frequently shown association with measures of alcohol-induced stimulation, and these studies have found little support for the association of rs1799971 with reduced alcohol-related sedation (Bujarski and Ray, 2014; Ray and Hutchison, 2004; Ray et al., 2013, 2014a). Thus, given both the general lack of association for rs1799971 with alcohol-induced sedation in previous studies, and with any of the other measures of subjective response in the current study, the association of rs1799971 with levels of BAES alcohol-related sedation should be interpreted with caution and warrants further investigation. Nonetheless, this finding does raise the possibility that both variants may be relevant to alcohol sensitivity and consumption phenotypes.
