From an excellent UK site. I'll post an excerpt here but visit the site for all of the links and information.
Several genes may affect our risk of alcoholism. For example, some genes may affect how well you "hold" your drink. People who break alcohol down quickly can drink more, and so are more at risk of alcoholism. Other genes may influence personality, which in turn may influence attitudes to alcohol. But genes are far from the whole story - availability of alcohol, depression, stress, upbringing, circumstances and peer pressure may all influence the risk of alcoholism. One thing is clear - there is NO single "alcogene" that makes a person alcoholic.
So why are scientists looking for genes involved in alcoholism, especially those that only have a slight effect? There are three potential benefits of this work:
1. It may lead to better treatments, based on a biological understanding of alcoholism
2. It may help explain the role of other, non-genetic factors
3. It may help identify people at risk of alcoholism, and help them avoid alcohol-related problems.
A Genetic Predisposition to Alcohol (US)
A private site by a recovering alcoholic with summaries of research and a list of references.
Try the activity Peter's Dilemma
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-l...cs/society.asp
Several genes may affect our risk of alcoholism. For example, some genes may affect how well you "hold" your drink. People who break alcohol down quickly can drink more, and so are more at risk of alcoholism. Other genes may influence personality, which in turn may influence attitudes to alcohol. But genes are far from the whole story - availability of alcohol, depression, stress, upbringing, circumstances and peer pressure may all influence the risk of alcoholism. One thing is clear - there is NO single "alcogene" that makes a person alcoholic.
So why are scientists looking for genes involved in alcoholism, especially those that only have a slight effect? There are three potential benefits of this work:
1. It may lead to better treatments, based on a biological understanding of alcoholism
2. It may help explain the role of other, non-genetic factors
3. It may help identify people at risk of alcoholism, and help them avoid alcohol-related problems.
A Genetic Predisposition to Alcohol (US)
A private site by a recovering alcoholic with summaries of research and a list of references.
Try the activity Peter's Dilemma
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-l...cs/society.asp