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Nature Medicine 11, 23 - 24 (2005)
doi:10.1038/nm0105-23

Clock reset for alcoholism

Vadim Yuferov1, Gavin Bart1 & Mary Jeanne Kreek1

  1. The authors are at the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York,USA. 10021 e-mail: kreek@mail.rockefeller.edu


Mutations in the clock gene Per2 influence alcohol consumption, as revealed by studies in mice and humans. In mice, this effect seems to be mediated by an excess of glutamate in the brain (pages 35–42).


Alcohol and drug addictions are complex neurological disorders with environmental, drug-induced and genetic components. Multiple genes probably contribute to the vulnerability to addiction.