2011, Weerts et al., 2013) and greater dopamine release in response to alcohol (Ramchandani et al., 2011), cigarette smoking (Domino et al., 2012), or pain (Pecina et al., 2015) challenges. The stimulatory effects of acute alcohol are also associated with its effects on dopamine release. Thus, it may be that the higher dopaminergic tone in DAT A9 carriers in interaction with OPRM1 genotype effects on mu opioid receptor function and dopamine neurotransmission in response to acute alcohol results in either enhanced (OPRM1*G carriers) or reduced (AA homozygotes) sensitivity to the sedative and aversive effects of alcohol.
