Twenty-three high risk (HR) male offspring from the alcoholic families in COGA (Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism) and 28 low risk (LR) male offspring from the control families who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria as mentioned below, were selected for the present study. All the subjects were in the age range of 18 to 25 years. They were categorized as LR if they were from control families and their parents were diagnosed negative for DSM IIIR alcohol dependence. Further, LR subjects could not be alcohol dependent or abusers and could not have a concurrent or past history of externalizing disorder (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder and Conduct Disorder). Subjects assigned to the HR category were offspring of male alcoholics from COGA families whose mothers were not alcohol dependent (to rule out the confounding effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or fetal alcohol effects), but who could have additional first degree relatives who were alcohol dependent. Further, HR subjects could not be alcohol dependent or abusers, but those with concurrent or past history of externalizing disorders were
