In sum, this study provides a replication and extension of previous findings of case-control population-based studies (e.g., Enoch et al., 2009) into a sample of hazardous drinkers. Broadly speaking, consistency in the genetic association literature hinges on the careful methodological replication and extension of findings to various samples, including samples of varying ethnic backgrounds and phenotypic distributions. The fact that this sample is relatively more homogenous than the extreme-groups (e.g., case-control or population-based) would argue for greater difficulty detecting significant genetic effects. Nevertheless, the present results are both statistically significant and potentially relevant to the literature. Future studies seem warranted to more fully characterize genetic variation at the GABRG1 gene, including the replication of these findings in diverse samples, the identification of functional loci through molecular studies, and the characterization of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these putative associations to alcohol phenotypes.
