Although abundant neuroimaging studies have documented the effects of alcohol on the brain in both chronic and abstinent alcoholics (reviewed by Oscar-Berman and Marinkovic 2007; Sullivan and Pfefferbaum 2005; Mann et al. 2001), there have been limited studies using MRI to investigate neural mechanisms of possible risk in high risk offspring who have not developed an AUD. Moreover, fMRI studies of offspring with a family history of AUD have used a variety of cognitive paradigms with small heterogeneous samples, thereby making it difficult to generalize findings across studies. Aside from these limitations, the studies provide some evidence of functional deficits that generally precede alcohol use and may underlie behavioral and cognitive deficits among offspring with a family history of AUD.
