A total of 78 right-handed abstinent alcoholic males and 58 healthy right-handed male controls who met the criteria for inclusion were recruited. Initial screening was performed over the telephone for all participants. Control subjects were recruited through newspaper advertisements and did not have any personal and/or family history of major medical, psychiatric, or substance-related disorders. They were instructed to abstain from alcohol and other substances with CNS effects for at least five days prior to the recordings and assessments. The alcoholic subjects (Alcohol Dependence as per DSM-IV criteria) were recruited from treatment centers for alcohol dependence in and around New York City. Before testing, they had been detoxified in a 30-day treatment program and were not in withdrawal state. The Bard/Porjesz Adult Alcoholism Battery (BAAB; cited from Kamarajan et al., 2005a), a semi-structured clinical assessment schedule, was used to obtain the clinical data related to alcohol dependence and alcohol-related medical problems. Alcoholic subjects who had a family history of psychiatric disorders in their first degree relatives, as well as those with severe cognitive deficits based on their score (< 21)
