An assessment of Post-alcohol withdrawal hyper-excitability (PAWH) was implemented partway through the study, after which it was administered to 26 controls and 51 TNAD subjects. PAWH was measured using a self-report questionnaire where subjects estimated (on a 0 to10 point scale) the frequency and distress caused by physical and psychological symptoms experienced during alcohol withdrawal. For the frequency estimate, a 0 meant never, 1 corresponded to 10 % of the times one ceased drinking, up to a 10 which indicated the symptom was experienced 100% of the time one ceased drinking. For the degree of distress caused by the presence of the symptom, a 0 meant not at all distressing, a score of 5 meant somewhat distressing, and a 10 meant “unbearable.” The symptoms were compiled from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) (Robins et al., 1998), the alcohol dependence scale (Skinner and Allen, 1982), and SSAGA interviews (Bucholz et al., 1994). We computed the average frequency and intensity over eight symptoms that measure PAWH: i) shakes (hands tremble, shake inside); ii) feel tense, nervous or anxious; iii) feel fidgety or
