This is supported by the significantly less reaction time reduction between the unprimed and primed condition, observed in alcoholics when compared to controls. Similar findings of reduced N400 attenuation during priming have also been reported in young non-alcoholic offspring of alcoholics (Roopesh et al., 2009), and hence they may represent an electrophysiological endophenotype that characterizes a genetic vulnerability to develop alcoholism and related disorders. Studies are underway as part of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) to determine possible underlying genes involved in these electrophysiological features.
