2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol

Subjects: Neurosciences
|
Contributor:
Neuroscientifically Challenged

View Times: 0
|
Release Date: 2024-04-03

Neuroscience Made Simpler

2-Minute Neuroscience: Zolpidem (Ambien)

10-Minute Neuroscience: Depression

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sleepwalking

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vertigo

2-Minute Neuroscience: Migraine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Methylphenidate

2-Minute Neuroscience: DMT

2-Minute Neuroscience: Cochlear Implants

2-Minute Neuroscience: Frontotemporal Dementia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Spina Bifida

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sleep Paralysis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Fatal Insomnia

2-Minute Neuroscience: PTSD

2-Minute Neuroscience: Schizophrenia

2-Minute Neuroscience: COVID-19 & the Brain

2-Minute Neuroscience: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

2-Minute Neuroscience: ADHD

2-Minute Neuroscience: Restless Legs Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Autism

2-Minute Neuroscience: Narcolepsy

2-Minute Neuroscience: MDMA

2-Minute Neuroscience: Brain Aneurysms

2-Minute Neuroscience: Bell's Palsy

2-Minute Neuroscience: Tinnitus

2-Minute Neuroscience: Ketamine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

2-Minute Neuroscience: Motor Neurons

2-Minute Neuroscience: Phantom Limb

10-Minute Neuroscience: Visual Pathways

10-Minute Neuroscience: Action Potentials

10-Minute Neuroscience: Synapses

10-Minute Neuroscience: Neurons

2-Minute Neuroscience: Tourette Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Withdrawal Reflex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors

2-Minute Neuroscience: Cerebral Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Deep Brain Stimulation

2-Minute Neuroscience: Meningitis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Corneal Reflex

2-Minute Neuroscience: CBD

2-Minute Neuroscience: THC

2-Minute Neuroscience: Alien Hand Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Melatonin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Psilocybin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Agonism, Antagonism, & Allosteric Modulation

2-Minute Neuroscience: LSD

2-Minute Neuroscience: Beta-Endorphin

2-Minute Neuroscience: L-DOPA

2-Minute Neuroscience: Parasympathetic Nervous System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sympathetic Nervous System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Indirect Pathway of the Basal Ganglia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Direct Pathway of the Basal Ganglia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Norepinephrine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sodium-Potassium Pump

2-Minute Neuroscience: Electroencephalography (EEG)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Trochlear Nerve (Cranial Nerve IV)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Oculomotor Nerve (Cranial Nerve III)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Touch Receptors

2-Minute Neuroscience: Hypoglossal Nerve (Cranial Nerve XII)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Accessory Nerve (Cranial Nerve XI)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Prefrontal Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vagus Nerve (Cranial Nerve X)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Phototransduction

2-Minute Neuroscience: Glossopharyngeal Nerve (Cranial Nerve IX)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Methadone

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vestibulocochlear Nerve (Cranial Nerve VIII)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Nicotine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Facial Nerve (Cranial Nerve VII)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Abducens Nerve (Cranial Nerve VI)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Concussions

2-Minute Neuroscience: Trigeminal Nerve (Cranial Nerve V)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Opioids

2-Minute Neuroscience: Optic Nerve (Cranial Nerve II)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Olfactory Nerve (Cranial Nerve I)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Brain Tumors

2-Minute Neuroscience: Glial Cells

2-Minute Neuroscience: Stages of Sleep

2-Minute Neuroscience: HPA Axis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Huntington's Disease

2-Minute Neuroscience: Amphetamine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Corpus Callosum

2-Minute Neuroscience: Pons

2-Minute Neuroscience: Parkinson's Disease

2-Minute Neuroscience: Hydrocephalus

2-Minute Neuroscience: Dopamine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Stroke

2-Minute Neuroscience: Glutamate

2-Minute Neuroscience: Blood Supply of the Brain

2-Minute Neuroscience: Neurotransmitter Release

2-Minute Neuroscience: Serotonin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Oxytocin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Wernicke's Area

2-Minute Neuroscience: Broca's Area

2-Minute Neuroscience: Acetylcholine

2-Minute Neuroscience: GABA

2-Minute Neuroscience: Taste

2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol

2-Minute Neuroscience: Olfaction

2-Minute Neuroscience: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Midbrain

2-Minute Neuroscience: Periaqueductal Gray (PAG)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Benzodiazepines

2-Minute Neuroscience: Caffeine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Long-Term Depression (LTD)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Pineal Gland

2-Minute Neuroscience: Primary Somatosensory Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

2-Minute Neuroscience: Nucleus Accumbens

2-Minute Neuroscience: Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Medulla Oblongata

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vestibular System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Amygdala

2-Minute Neuroscience: Striatum

2-Minute Neuroscience: Epilepsy

2-Minute Neuroscience: Multiple Sclerosis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Alzheimer's Disease

2-Minute Neuroscience: Neuromuscular Junction

2-Minute Neuroscience: Knee-Jerk Reflex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Substantia Nigra

2-Minute Neuroscience: Corticospinal Tract

2-Minute Neuroscience: Basal Ganglia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Motor Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Cerebellum

2-Minute Neuroscience: Effects of Cocaine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Blood-Brain Barrier

2-Minute Neuroscience: Myelin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Pain and the Anterolateral System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Touch and the Dorsal Columns-Medial Lemniscus

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Cochlea

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Retina

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Hippocampus

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Thalamus

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Brainstem

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Meninges

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Ventricles

2-Minute Neuroscience: Directional Terms in Neuroscience

2-Minute Neuroscience: Spinal Cord Cross-Section

2-Minute Neuroscience: Exterior of the Spinal Cord

2-Minute Neuroscience: Reward System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Limbic System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Hypothalamus & Pituitary Gland

2-Minute Neuroscience: Neuroimaging

2-Minute Neuroscience: Early Neural Development

2-Minute Neuroscience: Receptors & Ligands

2-Minute Neuroscience: Lobes/Landmarks of the Brain Surface

2-Minute Neuroscience: Divisions of the Nervous System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Action Potential

2-Minute Neuroscience: Membrane Potential

2-Minute Neuroscience: Synaptic Transmission

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Neuron

Playlist

2-Minute Neuroscience: Zolpidem (Ambien)

10-Minute Neuroscience: Depression

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sleepwalking

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vertigo

2-Minute Neuroscience: Migraine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Methylphenidate

2-Minute Neuroscience: DMT

2-Minute Neuroscience: Cochlear Implants

2-Minute Neuroscience: Frontotemporal Dementia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Spina Bifida

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sleep Paralysis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Fatal Insomnia

2-Minute Neuroscience: PTSD

2-Minute Neuroscience: Schizophrenia

2-Minute Neuroscience: COVID-19 & the Brain

2-Minute Neuroscience: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

2-Minute Neuroscience: ADHD

2-Minute Neuroscience: Restless Legs Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Autism

2-Minute Neuroscience: Narcolepsy

2-Minute Neuroscience: MDMA

2-Minute Neuroscience: Brain Aneurysms

2-Minute Neuroscience: Bell's Palsy

2-Minute Neuroscience: Tinnitus

2-Minute Neuroscience: Ketamine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

2-Minute Neuroscience: Motor Neurons

2-Minute Neuroscience: Phantom Limb

10-Minute Neuroscience: Visual Pathways

10-Minute Neuroscience: Action Potentials

10-Minute Neuroscience: Synapses

10-Minute Neuroscience: Neurons

2-Minute Neuroscience: Tourette Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Withdrawal Reflex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors

2-Minute Neuroscience: Cerebral Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Deep Brain Stimulation

2-Minute Neuroscience: Meningitis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Corneal Reflex

2-Minute Neuroscience: CBD

2-Minute Neuroscience: THC

2-Minute Neuroscience: Alien Hand Syndrome

2-Minute Neuroscience: Melatonin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Psilocybin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Agonism, Antagonism, & Allosteric Modulation

2-Minute Neuroscience: LSD

2-Minute Neuroscience: Beta-Endorphin

2-Minute Neuroscience: L-DOPA

2-Minute Neuroscience: Parasympathetic Nervous System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sympathetic Nervous System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Indirect Pathway of the Basal Ganglia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Direct Pathway of the Basal Ganglia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Norepinephrine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Sodium-Potassium Pump

2-Minute Neuroscience: Electroencephalography (EEG)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Trochlear Nerve (Cranial Nerve IV)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Oculomotor Nerve (Cranial Nerve III)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Touch Receptors

2-Minute Neuroscience: Hypoglossal Nerve (Cranial Nerve XII)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Accessory Nerve (Cranial Nerve XI)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Prefrontal Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vagus Nerve (Cranial Nerve X)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Phototransduction

2-Minute Neuroscience: Glossopharyngeal Nerve (Cranial Nerve IX)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Methadone

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vestibulocochlear Nerve (Cranial Nerve VIII)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Nicotine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Facial Nerve (Cranial Nerve VII)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Abducens Nerve (Cranial Nerve VI)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Concussions

2-Minute Neuroscience: Trigeminal Nerve (Cranial Nerve V)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Opioids

2-Minute Neuroscience: Optic Nerve (Cranial Nerve II)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Olfactory Nerve (Cranial Nerve I)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Brain Tumors

2-Minute Neuroscience: Glial Cells

2-Minute Neuroscience: Stages of Sleep

2-Minute Neuroscience: HPA Axis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Huntington's Disease

2-Minute Neuroscience: Amphetamine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Corpus Callosum

2-Minute Neuroscience: Pons

2-Minute Neuroscience: Parkinson's Disease

2-Minute Neuroscience: Hydrocephalus

2-Minute Neuroscience: Dopamine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Stroke

2-Minute Neuroscience: Glutamate

2-Minute Neuroscience: Blood Supply of the Brain

2-Minute Neuroscience: Neurotransmitter Release

2-Minute Neuroscience: Serotonin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Oxytocin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Wernicke's Area

2-Minute Neuroscience: Broca's Area

2-Minute Neuroscience: Acetylcholine

2-Minute Neuroscience: GABA

2-Minute Neuroscience: Taste

2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol

2-Minute Neuroscience: Olfaction

2-Minute Neuroscience: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Midbrain

2-Minute Neuroscience: Periaqueductal Gray (PAG)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Benzodiazepines

2-Minute Neuroscience: Caffeine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Long-Term Depression (LTD)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Pineal Gland

2-Minute Neuroscience: Primary Somatosensory Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

2-Minute Neuroscience: Nucleus Accumbens

2-Minute Neuroscience: Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

2-Minute Neuroscience: Medulla Oblongata

2-Minute Neuroscience: Vestibular System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Amygdala

2-Minute Neuroscience: Striatum

2-Minute Neuroscience: Epilepsy

2-Minute Neuroscience: Multiple Sclerosis

2-Minute Neuroscience: Alzheimer's Disease

2-Minute Neuroscience: Neuromuscular Junction

2-Minute Neuroscience: Knee-Jerk Reflex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Substantia Nigra

2-Minute Neuroscience: Corticospinal Tract

2-Minute Neuroscience: Basal Ganglia

2-Minute Neuroscience: Motor Cortex

2-Minute Neuroscience: Cerebellum

2-Minute Neuroscience: Effects of Cocaine

2-Minute Neuroscience: Blood-Brain Barrier

2-Minute Neuroscience: Myelin

2-Minute Neuroscience: Pain and the Anterolateral System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Touch and the Dorsal Columns-Medial Lemniscus

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Cochlea

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Retina

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Hippocampus

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Thalamus

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Brainstem

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Meninges

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Ventricles

2-Minute Neuroscience: Directional Terms in Neuroscience

2-Minute Neuroscience: Spinal Cord Cross-Section

2-Minute Neuroscience: Exterior of the Spinal Cord

2-Minute Neuroscience: Reward System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Limbic System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Hypothalamus & Pituitary Gland

2-Minute Neuroscience: Neuroimaging

2-Minute Neuroscience: Early Neural Development

2-Minute Neuroscience: Receptors & Ligands

2-Minute Neuroscience: Lobes/Landmarks of the Brain Surface

2-Minute Neuroscience: Divisions of the Nervous System

2-Minute Neuroscience: Action Potential

2-Minute Neuroscience: Membrane Potential

2-Minute Neuroscience: Synaptic Transmission

2-Minute Neuroscience: The Neuron

central nervous system
GABA
glutamate
dopamine pathway
synaptic plasticity

Video Introduction

This video is adapted from: https://youtu.be/1D2uyrNcGuo

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.^[1]^[2]

References

Abrahao KP, Salinas AG, Lovinger DM. Alcohol and the Brain: Neuronal Molecular Targets, Synapses, and Circuits. Neuron. 2017 Dec 20;96(6):1223-1238. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.10.032.
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.

Full Transcript

1000/1000

Hot Most Recent

©Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons-Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Confirm

Name: 2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol
Uploaded: 2024-04-07T04:08:05+01:00
Description: How alcohol acts in the central nervous system is still poorly understood

Are you sure to Delete?

Yes No

Cite

If you have any further questions, please contact Encyclopedia Editorial Office.

Select a Style

Challenged, N. 2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/video/video_detail/1173 (accessed on 21 December 2024).

Challenged N. 2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/video/video_detail/1173. Accessed December 21, 2024.

Challenged, Neuroscientifically. "2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/video/video_detail/1173 (accessed December 21, 2024).

Challenged, N. (2024, April 03). 2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/video/video_detail/1173

Challenged, Neuroscientifically. "2-Minute Neuroscience: Alcohol." Encyclopedia. Web. 03 April, 2024.