Three heritable responses to alcohol in a heterogeneous randomly mated mouse strain. Inferences for humans.

Abstract

A genetically heterogeneous mouse strain was used to study the genetics of responses to alcohol. The 1062 mice in 177 families were tested for 10 responses; the corresponding heritabilities were estimated. The tests included emotionality (open-field activity), 2 measures of ataxia, heart rate, rectal temperature, and sleeping time, all (except sleeping time) given twice, first without alcohol, then after a dose of 1.4 g of alcohol/kg of body weight i.p. Sleeping time was tested once with an alcohol dose of 4.24 g/kg. Three of the 10 responses, open-field activity, heart rate and sleeping time were significantly heritable, narrow-sense heritabilities (h2) being .12 .+-. .05 (P < .025), .18 .+-. .05 (P < .05) and .21 .+-. .08 (P < .005), respectively. Heart rate and sleeping time may have close parallels in man and mouse in their alcohol responses and genetics. The results are not extrapolated to alcoholism.