CNS caused by homeostatic imbalance is involved in a genetic predisposition to develop alcoholism and related externalizing disorders. This model seems more relevant now than ever before, and the KCNJ6 system could very well be one of the factors involved in ‘CNS hyperexcitability’ that may be related to clinical manifestations of neurobehavioral disinhibition associated with risk for AUDs (Tessner and Hill, 2010) and other substance use disorders (e.g., Tarter et al., 2003). As KCNJ6 / GIRK2 has been found to be related to neural excitability, reward processing, alcohol modulation and addiction, future studies are needed to investigate potential behavioral and clinical implications.
