The aim of this investigation is to determine whether male children of alcoholic manifest learning and memory impairments. Fifty sons of alcoholics who come from intact families will be assessed and compared to 50 sons of alcoholics who are not living with their biological father, and to equally matched control groups consisting of sons of depressed, medically ill and normal fathers. The alcoholic fathers and medically ill fathers, who have chronic nonalcoholic liver disease, will be recruited from the Gastroenterology Service at Presbyterian University Hospital (PUH). The fathers with a diagnosis of Unipolar Affective Disorder will come from the Mood Disorders Module Inpatient Unit at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC). Normal fathers and their sons will be recruited by advertisement from the surrounding community-dwelling population. The assessment will include neuropsychological tests of cognitive capacity, as well as measures of educational achievement and behavioral disturbance. The results of the proposed study will ascertain whether cognitive skills that are critical for successful adjustment in school, at work, and in social interactions, are deficient in boys at high risk for developing alcoholism. Demonstrating an association between learning and memory impairments and the risk for alcoholism has important ramifications for clarifying the neurobehavioral correlates of alcoholism vulnerability, as well as for improving current strategies for the prevention and treatment of alcoholism.
| Tarter, R E (1991) Developmental behavior-genetic perspective of alcoholism etiology. Recent Dev Alcohol 9:69-85 |
| Tarter, R E; Moss, H; Arria, A et al. (1990) Hepatic, nutritional, and genetic influences on cognitive process in alcoholics. NIDA Res Monogr 101:124-35 |
| Tarter, R E; Jacob, T; Bremer, D A (1989) Cognitive status of sons of alcoholic men. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 13:232-5 |
| Tarter, R E (1988) Are there inherited behavioral traits that predispose to substance abuse? J Consult Clin Psychol 56:189-96 |
