Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS, has a role in risk for developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) through the fast-acting receptor complex, GABAA 1, 2. Repeated alcohol exposure affects the GABA system 2 through binding sites at the GABA receptors reducing neural inhibitory action. Genetic variation in GABRA2, the gene encoding the GABAAα2 receptor subunit, has been reproducibly associated with both alcoholism 3–12 and an electroencephalography (EEG) measure, the β frequency band 6. Alcoholics 13 and their at risk offspring 14 have increased power in the β frequency band (13–28 Hz). Increased EEG-β activity is also a good predictor of relapse 15. In cortical networks, GABAergic transmission is critical for the maintenance of the excitation-inhibition homeostatic balance 16.
