This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Alcoholism is a multifactorial disorder associated with tremendous individual disability and enormous cost to society. Alcohol exerts some of its effects through the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system (Ticku and Kulkarni 1988). Currently, there is a paucity of information in in vivo GABA measurements in the human brain of individuals with alcohol dependence or co-morbid alcohol dependence and anxiety disorders. The goal of this study is to ovtain pilot data on brain GABA levels in recently abstinent alcoholics with and without an anxiety disorder compared to healthy controls,Specific Aims: We plan to enroll 30 subjects in order to obtain complete data on 24 men and women using magneticresonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to measure brain GABA levels. Subjects will be divided into three groups of 8: 1.) controls, 2) subjects with alcohol dependence and 3) subjects with alcohol dependence and an anxiety disorder. All subjects will have a MRSI scan on a 4.0 Tesla (T) scanner from which GABA spectral data will be extracted. Hypothesis I: Brain GABA levels will be lower in alcohol dependent subjects compared to controls. Hypothesis II: Brain GABA levels will be lower in alcohol dependent subjects with anxiety disorder compared to alcohol dependent without anxiety disorders. Hypothesis II: Alcohol dependent subjects with and without comorbid anxiety disorder will have lower nitric oxide levels than controls.
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