Chrna7 gene expression was increased in the CA group (Table 1) and was identified in the over-represented GO category “regulation of MAPK activity” (Table 2). It is noteworthy that several reports support a role for Chrna7 in substance abuse, for instance, (a) Chrna7 knock out mice display greater sensitivity to lower dose ethanol-induced motor activation and higher dose ethanol-induced hypothermia and loss of righting reflex compared with their wild-type counterparts (Bowers et al., 2005); (b) Chrna7 has been proposed to reduce ethanol-induced neurotoxicity (de Fiebre and de Fiebre, 2003); and (c) a significant association between the Chrna7 gene, altered cognitive (response inhibition and sustained attention) function (Rigbi et al., 2008) or psychological characteristics (Greenbaum et al., 2006), and smoking behavior have been reported in humans.
