00:00 / 00:00
de completadas
de completadas
2024
2023
2022
2021
alcoholism p. 589, 724
anemia p. 426
in anemia taxonomy p. 423
cardiomyopathy p. 315
cataracts and p. 550
cirrhosis and p. 396
common organisms affecting p. 176
esophageal cancer p. 385
ethanol metabolism and p. 70
folate deficiency p. 426
gastritis in p. 386
hepatitis p. 374
hypertension and p. 304
ketone bodies in p. 88
Klebsiella in p. 143
Korsakoff syndrome p. 575
liver serum markers in p. 397
lung abscesses and p. 704
magnesium levels in p. 334
Mallory-Weiss syndrome in p. 384
osteonecrosis in p. 468
osteoporosis and p. 467
pancreatitis p. 248, 404
porphyria p. 430
sideroblastic anemia p. 425
subdural hematomas p. 528
treatment p. 724
vitamin B1 deficiency p. 64
vitamin BNaN deficiency p. 66
wet beriberi p. 720
readmissions with p. 276
alcoholics p. 176
alcoholism p. 176
alcoholism p. 724
alcoholism treatment p. 589
alcoholism p. 176
alcoholism p. 589
alcoholism p. 176
alcoholism p. 589, 724
alcoholism p. 589
alcoholism p. 176
alcoholism p. 589
alcoholism p. 589
Alcohol is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances in the world, and has been a part of different cultures for hundreds of years.
Drinking alcohol can have serious harmful consequences, it’s been linked to various cancers, gastrointestinal diseases, and metabolic problems.
Over time, regular use of alcohol can lead to alcohol dependence and bouts of withdrawal, and this can take a serious physical and emotional toll on a person’s life.
Alcoholic drinks contain the chemical ethanol, which is a tiny molecule that reduces the activity of various inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter pathways in the brain.
Inhibitory neurotransmitters make neurons in the central nervous system less likely to fire an action potential, and the brain’s major inhibitory neurotransmitter—gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA—acts as an “off” switch and restricts brain activity.
Ethanol is a GABA agonist, so when it binds to GABA receptors it makes that inhibitory signal even stronger.
Ethanol also activates opioid receptors and induces the release of endogenous morphine—known as endorphins.
The opioids then bind to receptors on dopaminergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens, which trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin in that part of the brain.
Ethanol also acts as a glutamate antagonist.
In other words, ethanol blocks glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter, from binding to glutamate receptors, making it less likely that those neurons will fire.
The combined effect that ethanol has on these neurotransmitters varies by the location in the brain.
For example, in the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala, which are the reward centers of the brain, ethanol produces pleasant or rewarding feelings like euphoria.
This is important because if a person believes that drinking leads to euphoria, they are more likely to drink again.
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