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Neuroscience Research: How Has It Contributed to Our Understanding of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism? A Review
Author(s) -
Hunt Walter A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1993.tb05664.x
Subject(s) - alcohol abuse , neurotransmitter receptor , neuroscience , brain function , alcohol addiction , neurotransmitter systems , alcohol , alcohol dependence , psychiatry , addiction , psychology , substance abuse , medicine , receptor , dopamine , biology , biochemistry
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism are the greatest substance abuse problems in the United States today and contribute to numerous medical and social problems. To deal with many of these problems, an understanding of how alcohol acts on the brain is extremely important. Advances in neuroscience research have provided significant clues about where and how alcohol works on the brain. Alcohol clearly acts on membrane function, altering such processes as ion movements and neurotransmitter interactions with their receptors. Although these alcohol‐induced alterations are presumed to relate to changes in behavior, this has not been clearly established. However, alcohol research is on the threshold of making a giant leap forward in our understanding the etiology of alcoholism.