There is extensive literature, dating back to the 1940s, indicating unstable or poor alpha rhythm in alcoholics; alcoholics manifest less prevalent and lower alpha than do non-alcoholics (for reviews, see Begleiter and Platz, 1972; Propping et al., 1981). However some more recent studies did not find the same results (Pollock et al., 1992; Enoch et al., 1999). A pronounced slow alpha decrease is associated with relapse (Saletu-Zyhlarz et al., 2004); there is an increase in slow alpha, a decrease in fast alpha, and a deceleration of the alpha centroid with six months of abstinence. On the other hand, participants who had a family history of alcoholism had significantly higher spectral power in the slow alpha frequencies (7.5–9 Hz) (Ehlers and Phillips, 2003); this was found for males with alcoholic fathers (Ehlers and Schuckit, 1991) and women at high risk for developing alcoholism (Ehlers et al., 1996). While reduced EEG alpha power in male and female offspring of alcoholics has been reported (Finn and Justus, 1999), this was not related to comorbid traits of anxiety or antisocial personality. A distinctive low-voltage
