Chunk #78 — Potential for Translational Applications of Electrophysiological Measures of Brain Function — Electrophysiological Measures As Endophenotypes for Alcoholism
Under the same linkage peak as the CHRM2 gene, a metabotropic glutamate receptor gene (GRM8) was found to be associated with theta EROs to target stimuli at frontal, central, and parietal regions. The same SNPs were found to be significantly associated with 1CD-10 (World Health Organization 1992) based alcohol dependence (Chen et al. 2009). The neurochemical basis of the target stimulus response—P3 and related theta and delta rhythms—is triggered by glutamatergic activity and modulated by both cholinergic and GABAergic sources (Frodl-Bauch et al. 1999). These same GABAergic, cholinergic, and glutamatergic receptor genes also were found to be associated with alcoholism-related phenotypes. Thus, the same genes initially identified as associated with electrophysiological endophenotypes also were found to be associated with alcoholism-related phenotypes.
