ERPs also have been used to assess familial history as a neural signature or “marker” of alcoholism (Begleiter, Porjesz, Bihari, & Kissin, 1984; Hill et al., 1998; Hill & Steinhauer, 1993; O'Connor, Hesslebrock, Tasman, & DePalma, 1987; Porjesz & Begleiter, 1990). A meta-analysis of the early studies found that these effects were variable (Polich, Pollock, & Bloom, 1994), and that difficult visual discrimination tasks produced the strongest family history effects (e.g., Carlson, Iacono, & McGue, 2002; Iacono, Carlson, Malone, & McGue, 2002; Reese & Polich, 2003). These findings suggest that the P300 component in particular can index the effects of alcohol intake and may reflect the genetic background of alcoholism.
