Alcohol use disorder
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Alcohol use disorder
Psychological disorders
Bipolar and related disorders
Bipolar disorder
Medication-induced movement disorders and other adverse effects of medication
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
Serotonin syndrome
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
Body dysmorphic disorder
Body focused repetitive disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
Delusional disorder
Schizoaffective disorder
Schizophrenia
Schizophreniform disorder
Substance-related and addictive disorders
Alcohol use disorder
Cannabis dependence
Cocaine dependence
Opioid dependence
Tobacco dependence
Psychological disorders review
Amnesia, dissociative disorders and delirium: Pathology review
Childhood and early-onset psychological disorders: Pathology review
Dementia: Pathology review
Developmental and learning disorders: Pathology review
Drug misuse, intoxication and withdrawal: Alcohol: Pathology review
Drug misuse, intoxication and withdrawal: Hallucinogens: Pathology review
Drug misuse, intoxication and withdrawal: Other depressants: Pathology review
Drug misuse, intoxication and withdrawal: Stimulants: Pathology review
Eating disorders: Pathology review
Malingering, factitious disorders and somatoform disorders: Pathology review
Mood disorders: Pathology review
Personality disorders: Pathology review
Psychiatric emergencies: Pathology review
Psychological sleep disorders: Pathology review
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Pathology review
Trauma- and stress-related disorders: Pathology review
Assessments
Alcohol use disorder
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Alcohol use disorder
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External References
First Aid
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
Acamprosate
alcoholism p. 595, 726
Alcoholism p. 595
anemia p. 428
in anemia taxonomy p. 425
cardiomyopathy p. 317
cataracts and p. 554
cirrhosis and p. 398
common organisms affecting p. 176
esophageal cancer p. 387
ethanol metabolism and p. 70
folate deficiency p. 428
gastritis in p. 388
hepatitis p. 376
hypertension and p. 306
ketone bodies in p. 88
Klebsiella in p. 143
Korsakoff syndrome p. 581
liver serum markers in p. 399
lung abscesses and p. 710
magnesium levels in p. 336
Mallory-Weiss syndrome in p. 386
osteonecrosis in p. 473
osteoporosis and p. 472
pancreatitis p. 250, 406
porphyria p. 432
sideroblastic anemia p. 427
subdural hematomas p. 532
treatment p. 726
vitamin B1 deficiency p. 64
vitamin BNaN deficiency p. 66
wet beriberi p. 714
Alcohol-related disorders
readmissions with p. 277
Aspiration pneumonia
alcoholics p. 176
Bacteroides spp.
alcoholism p. 176
Disulfiram
alcoholism p. 726
alcoholism treatment p. 595
Fusobacterium spp.
alcoholism p. 176
Hepatitis
alcoholism p. 595
Klebsiella spp. p. 143
alcoholism p. 176
Naltrexone
alcoholism p. 595, 726
Pancreatitis p. 406
alcoholism p. 595
Peptostreptococcus spp.
alcoholism p. 176
Peripheral neuropathy
alcoholism p. 595
Testicular atrophy
alcoholism p. 595
Transcript
Content Reviewers
Contributors
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.
In the cerebral cortex, the thought-processing center of the brain, ethanol slows everything down, making it difficult to think and speak clearly.
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