Studies with animal-based models and human postmortem brains have demonstrated that alcohol exposure alters the expression of genes involved in diverse cellular functions. Using C57BL/6J mice as models, altered expression of immediate early genes (c-fos, fosB, and zif268) was observed in the hippocampus (HIP), the nucleus accumbens (NAc), the basolateral amygdala (AMY), and the lateral hypothalamus due to alcohol exposure [4]. Human postmortem brain studies have examined AUD-associated coding gene (or mRNA) expression changes in three brain regions [prefrontal cortex (PFC), NAc, and ventral tegmental area (VTA)] comprising the core reward circuitry. Differentially expressed coding genes identified in postmortem PFC of AUD subjects are potentially involved in transcription [5], aldehyde detoxification [6], nicotine response and opioid signaling [7], oxidative stress [5, 8], mitochondrial function [5, 6], myelination [9–12], calcium signaling [11], protein trafficking [10], fatty acid metabolism [6], cell cycling [13], cell adhesion [12], and neuronal apoptosis [5, 11, 12]. Differentially expressed coding genes identified in postmortem NAc of AUD subjects may participate in synaptic transmission [5, 8], vesicle formation and cell architecture [5], transcription and lipid metabolism [14], and
