The $65 million federally-funded Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) included 10,000 participants with a history of alcohol addiction.

The research was conducted at six locations. In St. Louis, scientists isolated a gene on chromosome 15 that appears to be connected to alcohol addiction.

The gene is involved in the regulation of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), which is a chemical in the brain that helps to send messages between neurons. Previous research has shown that GABA alters behavior and is linked to psychiatric disorders.

"Stimulating GABA receptors will increase behavioral effects of alcohol, like motor coordination and reduction of anxiety," said Danielle Dick, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and principal author of the study.

For another component of the study, researchers are examining a different area of the genome, chromosome 4, to determine whether genes there are connected with alcohol metabolism and brain activity.

Researchers involved in the study expect to find several genes associated with alcohol dependence. Such identification could lead to new avenues for medications.

"It is important to say that these genes all influence your risk," Dick said. "There is no one alcoholism gene."

The National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funded the study. The findings appear in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

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