There were no candidate genes reported by the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) that were the same as genes with expression differences observed in the ACB-shell and CeA between the control and alcohol drinking groups in the present study. However, there were some genes that were within certain similar receptor classifications and/or biological functions between COGA and the present study. Differences in mRNA expression for certain GABA receptor subtypes, glutathione-S-transferase subtypes, calcium-binding proteins and cytokine/proinflammatory factors were found in the present study, and these genes are also within families of candidate genes reported by COGA (reviewed in Strat et al., 2008). In addition, mRNA expression for genes for certain glutamate receptor subunits (Chen et al., 2009), nicotinic receptor subunits (Wang et al., 2009), and dopamine receptor subtypes (Dick et al., 2007) were in families of candidate genes reported for COGA studies and were also found in the present study. Overall, these results may point toward common neurobiological systems that may contribute to excessive alcohol drinking behavior.
