The studies summarized above, showing differences between treated and untreated alcoholics, motivated our examination of P3b amplitudes in treatment-naïve alcoholics. In the current study, we examine the visual P3b, N2b and N2a components of the event-related potential (ERP) response to target and rare non-target stimuli in a treatment-naïve alcohol dependent (TNAD) sample compared to age and gender comparable non-alcoholic controls (NAC). We examined the degree to which this comparison was modulated by the family history of alcoholism, the severity of alcohol abuse and the presence and severity of comorbid psychiatric disorders.
