To determine the psychobiological distinctiveness of various behavioral processes, pharmacological and genetic methods are being used. The relationships among alcohol's anxiolytic, reinforcing, amnestic, locomotor stimulant,d sedative/hypnotic and hypothermic effects are being studied using a variety of inbred strains of mice. The role played by the benzodiazepine- GABA receptor complex in the effects of ethanol is also being investigated. Several benzodiazepine receptor inverse agonists have been found to partially reserve some of the behavioral effects of ethanol. A variety of different methods are being used to investigate mechanisms of learning and memory. The cognitive functioning both of normal human volunteers under the influence of different drugs (such as alcohol and benzodiazepines), and of various patient populations (e.g., Korsakoff's psychosis, various dementias) is being examined. The effects of drug treatments on learning and memory processes in laboratory rodents are also being studied. Finally the effect of changes in mood on cognitive function is being examined in normal volunteers following treatment with alcohol.
