The pronounced impact of the B6J mutation on GABA-A receptor subunit mRNA expression in the striatum, combined with the involvement of the striatum in anxiety and behavioral sensitization to alcohol and other drugs of abuse, strongly suggests that alterations in the level of Gabra2 in this region drive related behavioral differences between mice with the low-expressing B6J allele and the high-expressing wild type allele. The gene discussed is GABRA2; the disease is Anxiety.