ACUTE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON P300 IN ASIANS WITH DIFFERENT ALDH2 GENOTYPES

Asian men were genotyped for alleles of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) and tested on two separate occasions following oral administration of placebo and 0.75 ml/kg alcohol. Sixty minutes after beverage ingestio n, event-related potentials were elicited using an auditory oddball pa radigm. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that alcohol produced signifi cant increases in P300 latency and significant decreases in P300 ampli tude compared with placebo. Subjects with ALDH2 star 1/2 star 2 genoty pe (n = 14) demonstrated some significantly greater P300 effects after alcohol than subjects with ALDH2 star 1/2 star 1 genotype (n = 15), d espite equivalent blood alcohol concentrations. These data suggest tha t neurocognitive functioning may be more impaired following alcohol in subjects with an ALDH2 star 2 allele. These findings further suggest that a genetically controlled factor (deficiency in ALDH enzyme activi ty) might contribute to a decreased likelihood of alcohol intake and p rotection from alcoholism, because of an enhanced sensitivity to alcoh ol.