GABRA6, encoding for the α6 subunit, have been found in Scottish (Loh et al. 1999) and Finnish (Radel et al. 2005) populations. Furthermore, sons of alcoholics with the proline385 to serine polymorphism at GABRA6 were less sensitive to the effects of ethanol and this polymorphism was a predictor for the development of alcoholism (Schuckit et al. 1999). In the same subjects, this polymorphism was also associated with reduced sensitivity to benzodiazepines (Iwata et al. 1999) and to the sedative effects of ethanol (Hu et al. 2005).
