The prevalence of alcohol abuse and alcoholism among different ethnic groups varies widely.. Certain tribes of Native Americans have very high rates of alcohol abuse when compared to Caucasian, African American, and Asian American subjects living in the same geographic areas. These ethnic differences in rates of alcoholism are thought to reflect a combination of sociocuItural and biological factors. Within the biological realm, several preliminary studies provide evidence to suggest that certain electrophysiological variables (ERPs and EEGs) may be good markers of genetic predisposition to alcoholism. Few studies, however, have evaluated whether ethnic and/ or racial diversities exist in electrophysiological markers of alcoholism risk. Recent data do suggest that there is genetic diversity in biologic sensitivity to alcohol. The source of the differences in alcohol sensitivity are not well understood, but presumably result, in part, from genetic differences in metabolic factors, i.e., genetic polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), as well as inborn differences in CNS """"""""reactivity."""""""" The overall objective of the proposed studies is to extend our previous investigations, which evaluated biologic reactivity to alcohol and placebo challenge in Caucasian sons of alcoholics, Asian American men, and Native American men. Our preliminary studies suggest that Native American men have a qualitatively different response to alcohol than Caucasian and Asian American men. We believe that this diversity in response to alcohol may, in part, account for their increased risk for the development of alcoholism. In order to explore this further, in new sets of studies, both Native American men and women ages 18-25 will be tested for biologic reactivity to alcohol and placebo using a modification of the same alcohol challenge protocol from our previous studies. In addition, behavioral and electrophysiological data will be collected from Native American boys and girls between the ages of 8-11 in order to determine whether specific risk markers might be present in young boys and girls prior to any alcohol exposure. These studies have the potential to verify whether Native Americans have any specific biological or behavioral factors that may help to explain the high risk for alcoholism within the tribes evaluated. The identification of such variables may potentially be useful in the development of specific prevention and treatment programs for this population as well as other Native American tribes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01AA010201-05S1
Application #
6153245
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (SRCA (43))
Program Officer
Witt, Ellen
Project Start
1994-09-26
Project End
2000-05-31
Budget Start
1999-09-28
Budget End
2000-05-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Scripps Research Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92037
Ehlers, Cindy L; Wills, Derek; Gilder, David A (2018) A history of binge drinking during adolescence is associated with poorer sleep quality in young adult Mexican Americans and American Indians. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 235:1775-1782
Gizer, Ian R; Bizon, Chris; Gilder, David A et al. (2018) Whole genome sequence study of cannabis dependence in two independent cohorts. Addict Biol 23:461-473
Moore, Roland S; Gilder, David A; Grube, Joel W et al. (2018) Prevention of Underage Drinking on California Indian Reservations Using Individual- and Community-Level Approaches. Am J Public Health 108:1035-1041
Melroy-Greif, Whitney E; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C; Yehuda, Rachel et al. (2017) Genome-Wide Association Study of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Two High-Risk Populations. Twin Res Hum Genet 20:197-207
Melroy-Greif, Whitney E; Gizer, Ian R; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C et al. (2017) Genetic Influences on Evening Preference Overlap with Those for Bipolar Disorder in a Sample of Mexican Americans and American Indians. Twin Res Hum Genet 20:499-510
Criado, José R; Gilder, David A; Kalafut, Mary A et al. (2016) Cardiovascular disease risks in adult Native and Mexican Americans with a history of alcohol use disorders: association with cardiovascular autonomic control. Clin Auton Res 26:87-95
Ehlers, Cindy L; Wills, Derek N; Phillips, Evelyn et al. (2015) Low voltage alpha EEG phenotype is associated with reduced amplitudes of alpha event-related oscillations, increased cortical phase synchrony, and a low level of response to alcohol. Int J Psychophysiol 98:65-75
Gilder, David A; Gizer, Ian R; Lau, Philip et al. (2014) Stimulant dependence and stimulant-associated psychosis: clinical characteristics and age of onset in a native American community sample. J Addict Med 8:241-8
Peng, Qian; Gizer, Ian R; Libiger, Ondrej et al. (2014) Association and ancestry analysis of sequence variants in ADH and ALDH using alcohol-related phenotypes in a Native American community sample. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 165B:673-83
Ehlers, Cindy L; Stouffer, Gina M; Gilder, David A (2014) Associations between a history of binge drinking during adolescence and self-reported responses to alcohol in young adult Native and Mexican Americans. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 38:2039-47

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