2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol

How alcohol acts on the central nervous system to produce intoxication is still poorly understood. In this video, I attempt to summarize current perspectives on the neural effects of alcohol, emphasizing its recognized actions on GABA and glutamate receptors along with some of its systemic effects.

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to 2 minute neuroscience, where I explain neuroscience topics in 2 minutes or less. In this installment I will discuss alcohol.

How alcohol acts in the central nervous system is still poorly understood. Two of the best known effects of alcohol, however, are its actions on GABA and glutamate receptors. Alcohol increases GABA activity at a subtype of the GABA receptor known as GABAa. The mechanism by which this occurs is still not clear, but it is thought that alcohol may act as a positive allosteric modulator, meaning it binds to a site on the receptor that is separate from where GABA binds, and increases the effect GABA has when it binds to the receptor itself. The immediate effect of this action typically is the inhibition of neural firing.

Alcohol also inhibits the activity of glutamate receptors. Again, the mechanism for this is not fully understood but because glutamate is generally excitatory, inhibition by alcohol initially leads to the reduction of neural activity.

A long list of other synaptic actions have been linked to alcohol, including (but not limited to): activation of serotonin receptors, enhancement of glycine receptor function, inhibition of adenosine reuptake, inhibition of calcium channels, activation of potassium channels, and modulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function. It’s not clear, however, how relevant each of these effects are to the human use of alcohol.

There are also some large-scale effects associated with alcohol. For example, alcohol stimulates dopamine transmission in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway--an action thought to be associated with the reinforcement of alcohol consumption. Alcohol affects motor coordination and balance, potentially in part through its influence on neurons in the cerebellum. And it inhibits long-term potentiation and other mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, which may contribute to its memory-disrupting effects.

REFERENCES:

Goldin M, Marshall EJ. 2016. Alcohol: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. In: Wolf K, White J, Karch S, eds. The SAGE Handbook of Drug & Alcohol Studies : Biological Approaches. London: Sage Publications; 2016.

[Musician-rq]

I love your videos. It's going on 11 years since this process has taken place in my body. I woke up one morning in May 2012 and said, I'll never drink alcohol again, and I haven't, and never will.

[evrencicekli]

im drunk and also taking neuroscience courses. it’s trippy to know what’s happening to my brain atm haha

[sherrygad]

Thanks so much. This really helped me in pharmacy school.

[jacobb]

Very informative. I highly appreciate your work.

[celeb]

Really appreciate this! Was looking for some background info on effects of alcohol on sensory processing for my lab project, so this helps a bunch!!

[jasonlee]

This is a great video! So clear and thought out. wow

[brokentombot]

Yes. Ethanol is really weird. Good job covering the main things. As you said, it is an unknown effector in many ways. I think the dumb way of looking at it is that it will effect one area and then affect another. Ad infitum. It's a cascade phenomenon. And then when that cascade is going, the ethanol will do more effects for more affects. Why is this not an illegal drug?

[dunragit]

This would explain why it helps with my ataxia, cns damage from brainstem surgery?

[sais]

Well, that's why Alcohol is the best relaxing drug out there. Thanks for the lecture.

[TobyFieldhouse]

Please could someone explain how increasing GABA(A) receptor activity leads to increased dopamine release when GABAergic neurons typically inhibit DAergic neurons?

[ethanboyd]

Never tried 'em but watching that sure felt good.

[salonipatankar]

I'm convinced that the nine (9) people who disliked this video are alcoholics

[Sowrdfish]

Could you do one on what is known about GHB? Since I understand it works on similar receptors but in what way and how does the brain produce it?

[vibrathor]

hey soo it works similarly like benzos?

[obscurion]

who using alcohol as nmda antagonist, i dont even feel the gaba agonism because of my xanax use i stopped eatin xans 1 month ago tho

[KarlEriksson-ph]

I love to meditate when i drank too much alcohol wine pref

[mariannbalint]

Can anyone explain how drinking alcohol while taking anti epileptic drugs is bad?

[dustinbailey]

I was almost sure alcohol increased negative Charges (chloride ions) So it was negative not positive allosteric. Same as benzos.

[joshuafletcher]

if you have depression its most likely going to stimulate cortisol

[johnnyboy]

So pretty much this is like a weak benzo?