One promising area of research for genetic psychophysiology with a strong translational potential is psychopharmacogenetic research focused on the elucidation of the mechanisms behind drug X gene interaction. Here, at least two distinct directions can be identified. The first direction involves the investigation of genetically determined differences in acute psychophysiological responses to drugs of abuse, which can facilitate the understanding of the mechanisms of addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs. For example, a twin study of acute alcohol effects on the EEG revealed heritable individual differences in acute tolerance and sensitization to alcohol (O'Connor et al., 1999). Another study suggested that the effect of nicotine of P50 sensory gating is moderated by functional variation in the dopamine transporter gene (DAT) (Millar et al., 2011). The second direction is concerned with genetically determined differences in psychophysiological responses to medication. For a better understanding of variability in treatment efficacy and outcomes, it is important to know what specific neurocognitive mechanisms are affected by a given medication in genetically different individuals.
