Neurotransmitter Systems in Alcohol Dependence

Abstract

An interplay of different neurotransmitter systems has been implicated in the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence. Here we focus on neuroadaptations in reward-related neurotransmitter systems and their impact on central processing of alcohol-associated and reward-indicating stimuli. We discuss genotype effects on cue-induced neuronal activation and present new computational methods based on machine learning to deal with complex genotype-phenotype interactions, e.g. between brain atrophy and genes associated with glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission.

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