An overview of all microarray studies conducted in rodent and human brain tissue is provided in Table 1. Earlier studies have been previously reviewed [20-24]. Most recent studies in the field of ethanol transcriptomics have improved our understanding of the genetic determinants of alcoholism by either of the following means: Using rodent models of binge drinking and alcoholism with improved face and construct validity, such as chronic free choice drinking [25-29], induction of dependence [26, 30-34] and protracted abstinence [32-36].Providing mechanistic insights into the regulation of gene expression by ethanol through the identification of transcription factors [37-40], epigenetic modifications [29, 35, 41, 42] and miRNAs [33, 34, 43] potentially coordinating changes in the expression of many transcripts at a time.Integrating datasets to increase confidence in the identification of candidate genes (meta-analysis approach) and correlating gene expression levels with a relevant phenotype [29, 37-39, 44-47].Comparing transcriptional patterns induced by ethanol with those induced by other drugs of abuse, in an effort to identify common factors influencing drug addiction [36, 42, 48].
