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UCLA Brain Scientists Crack Mystery Of How Alcohol Causes Intoxication
Science Daily ^ | February 20, 2005 | Unattributed

Posted on 02/20/2005 4:13:54 PM PST by LurkedLongEnough

Alcohol interferes with how brain cells communicate with one another, coordination, grogginess, impaired memory and loss of inhibitions associated with drunkenness. Yet researchers have been unable to pinpoint how alcohol causes this disruption in the brain.

Now scientists at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have deciphered how a naturally occurring gene mutation in rats' brains lowers the animals' tolerance to alcohol, leading to rapid and acute intoxication after the equivalent of one drink. The UCLA study is the first to identify how the gene variation alters GABA receptors -- specific sites targeted by chemicals from the brain cells -- making them more responsive to very low levels of alcohol. Alcohol enhances the GABA receptors' influence on brain cells, slowing the cells' activity and ability to communicate.

The fact that the gene mutation arises naturally suggests that tolerance levels to alcohol may be genetically wired in people, too. If so, the findings could eventually help identify children and adults at higher risk of developing alcohol dependency, so these individuals can make an informed decision about whether to drink. The study results may also speed the development of new drugs that target alcohol-sensitive GABA receptors, leading to better treatments for alcohol poisoning and addiction.

Authors of the study include UCLA Brain Research Institute members Richard Olsen, Ph.D., professor of molecular and medical pharmacology; Thomas Otis, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology; and Martin Wallner, Ph.D., pharmacology researcher.

The Feb. 6 online edition of Nature Neuroscience reports the findings.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Addiction supported the research.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: alcohol; brain; mentalhealth; wodlist
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To: LurkedLongEnough

Typical UCLA fixation.


21 posted on 02/20/2005 4:53:58 PM PST by JennysCool (I was so naive as a kid I used to sneak behind the barn and do nothing. -Johnny Carson)
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To: Mr Ramsbotham
I have a friend who becomes a genius after a few bottles of Boone's Farm Strawberry wine.

I much prefer a Guinness or a fine, very aged scotch, meself!

22 posted on 02/20/2005 4:55:54 PM PST by Thumper1960 ("It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed."-V.I.Lenin)
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To: Arkinsaw

Yeah, I'm having trouble with that one too.


23 posted on 02/20/2005 4:55:59 PM PST by IronJack
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To: LurkedLongEnough

"I just can't figure out how a topic like this could pre-occupy so many bright minds."

Perhaps you've answered your own question?


24 posted on 02/20/2005 4:56:27 PM PST by Smartaleck (Tom Delay TX: (Dems have no plan, no agenda, no solutions.))
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To: LurkedLongEnough

This is great! Maybe now someone will devise a calorie-free means of achieving the same effects. 'Scuse me. Gotta go get another lite beer...


25 posted on 02/20/2005 4:56:36 PM PST by fullchroma
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To: petro45acp

"Getting older, I find I enjoy the taste of fine spirits and good beer more but really dislike the mind numbing effect."

Excellent!!! Figure out how to make the former without the later and there's billions to be made.


26 posted on 02/20/2005 4:59:09 PM PST by Smartaleck (Tom Delay TX: (Dems have no plan, no agenda, no solutions.))
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To: ScottFromSpokane

Guy wins the lottery. Tells the college he'll donate enough to build a dorm if they'll name it after him. They say, okay. Next fall, he's invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony for "Lucky B@stard Hall." (rimshot)


27 posted on 02/20/2005 5:02:05 PM PST by Richard Kimball (It was a joke. You know, humor. Like the funny kind. Only different.)
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To: anniegetyourgun

in vino veritas...


28 posted on 02/20/2005 5:03:42 PM PST by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: Knitting A Conundrum

xactly.


29 posted on 02/20/2005 5:07:39 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Smartaleck

Whew! Game, set and match...


30 posted on 02/20/2005 5:10:01 PM PST by Pharmboy ("Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God")
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To: LurkedLongEnough
> It's never the drunk's fault, it's the way the alcohol affects the brain.

> I just can't figure out how a topic like this could pre-occupy so many bright minds.

As someone who has long struggled with a drinking problem, let me assure you that the fight can be difficult.

It's hard to explain. I can go months without drinking, and then something will happen which will set me off. It can be something tiny and seemingly inconsequential, like a light bulb burning out. It usually isn't the big things.

I know that seems crazy. That's because it IS crazy.
31 posted on 02/20/2005 5:13:20 PM PST by The Other Harry
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To: LurkedLongEnough
I just can't figure out how a topic like this could pre-occupy so many bright minds.

too many experiments?

32 posted on 02/20/2005 5:13:21 PM PST by maine-iac7 (."...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time" LINCOLN)
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To: LurkedLongEnough

no kidding.....I find the more I drink, the more I"m the most important, handsome, clever and funniest man in the room.......isn't that a good thing?????


33 posted on 02/20/2005 5:15:54 PM PST by NorCalRepub
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To: Mercat

no, just givem all the free booze he can drink.


34 posted on 02/20/2005 5:16:20 PM PST by mamelukesabre
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To: anniegetyourgun

woah!

that's serious. I know cause I been there. People hold that kind of stuff against you for a really long time.


35 posted on 02/20/2005 5:18:29 PM PST by mamelukesabre
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To: LurkedLongEnough
Actually, a famous example of this was Ulysses S. Grant. He got the reputation of a frequent drunk while he was a general, on duty. Later on, the officers who were with him while drinking remembered that he only ever took one or two shots of whiskey. One sip and he would begin slurring his speech and loose his balance. He was definitely drunk, but it took almost no booze to get him plastered.
36 posted on 02/20/2005 5:23:03 PM PST by DesertWalker
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To: LurkedLongEnough

I smell a rat in this undoubtedly taxpayer funded study.
Alcohol anesthetizes the brain cells.It puts them to sleep.
Take two alcohol molecules, remove the H2O and your left with ether.


37 posted on 02/20/2005 5:34:33 PM PST by philetus (What goes around comes around)
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To: LurkedLongEnough

This is very interesting stuff. The researchers aren't trying to make a social statement about alcohol consumption. They are trying to understand the fundamental chemistry in the brain that causes alcohol's effects. Based on this article, they have found a genetic effect on alcohol sensitivity. In other words, why different people can experience differing degrees of alcohol's effects. some people do get drunk much more easily than others, even after weight and sex are considered.


38 posted on 02/20/2005 5:47:23 PM PST by doc30 (Democrats are to morals what and Etch-A-Sketch is to Art.)
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To: Thumper1960
I have a friend who becomes a genius after a few bottles of Boone's Farm Strawberry wine. ... I much prefer a Guinness or a fine, very aged scotch, meself!

It's just the same with me. In my younger days I downed many a bottle of Boone's Farm. You know, I don't see the Apple variety in the stores any longer. If I did, I'd probably get a bottle, just for old time's sake. But yes, now that I can afford some of the finer things, there's nothing quite like a good Scotch, or stout, or lager, or ale.

39 posted on 02/20/2005 5:47:52 PM PST by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: djf

I hate being abused by alcohol.


40 posted on 02/20/2005 5:48:43 PM PST by livius
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