This lecture reviews data that support the importance of at least four separate families of genetically-influenced characteristics that relate to the alcoholism risk. These include alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, behavioral and neuronal disinhibition, independent psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, and a low intensity of response to alcohol. Possible neurochemical and physiological correlates of these families of influences are discussed as a way of beginning to synthesize the search for genes contributing to the alcoholism risk.