The primary purpose is to pursue research on the genetic basis of alcohol action. A typical teaching load in the Department of Psychology is about 132 classroom contact hours per year, three full semester courses. The only exceptions are faculty who have career research awards. I have initiated a study wherein we are identifying and mapping mouse genes of relevance to alcoholism. In our initial studies we are using the Long- Sleep (LS) and Short-Sleep (SS) lines of mice that were selectively bred for differential sensitivity to the anesthetizing action of alcohol. We are establishing a strain distribution pattern (SDP) for molecular markers among 27 recombinant inbred (RI) strains generated by crosses between the LS and SS lines and are using this SDP to establish a provisional map of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for alcohol sensitivity. These provisional QTLs are being confirmed in F/2 crosses. I have also initiated a number of collaborative studies including the testing of tryptophan hydroxylase involvement in ethanol sensitivity, the mapping of QTLs for non-alcohol anesthetics, the mapping of QTLs specifying alcohol sensitivity in the rat, and the identification of syntenic regions of the human genome that contain genes of relevance to alcoholism. During the tenure of this award I will pursue research on the biological and molecular basis of alcohol action.
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