selectively responds to the relevant information; this accounts for the large amplitude of the P3 (Klimesch et al. 2000). The low-amplitude P3 components manifested by alcoholics indicate that they have less CNS inhibition than control subjects. Researchers have hypothesized that this lack of inhibition, or underlying CNS disinhibition (i.e., hyperexcitablity), is involved in a predisposition to alcoholism (Begleiter and Porjesz 1999).
