Chapter IV - Alcohol

In my Psychology course there is a Behavioural Neuroscience subject that is compulsory. This semester we looked at how different drugs work on the brain at a Nero-chemical level. So basically, I'm going to talk about what is happening in your brain when you get drunk. This will also work as revision for my upcoming exam. I have to admit, I am a binge drinker. I have alcohol more for the effect than the taste (except maybe whiskey, its yummy). Being intoxicated is like being someone else who has no worries, thinks everything is funny and is free from the rules that restrict our behaviour. So you can see why alcohol and other recreational drug are so popular. This is my simplified explanation of alcohol's effect on the brain:

The brain works through a system many different brain cells called neurons. Action potentials or neural messages move along the neurons to produce all the different functions or the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help move the action potential from one neuron to the next. Inhibitory (blocking) neurotransmitters called GABA, are active through the brain. These neurotransmitters act to control neural activity along many brain pathways. When GABA binds to its receptor, the neuron is less likely to transmit a neural message. Meanwhile, somewhere else in the brain, another neurotransmitter called glutamate acts as the brain's general purpose excitatroy (makes the neuron more likely to pass on a signal to the next neuron) neurotransmitter. When alcohol enters the brains, it delivers a double sedative action. First it interacts with GABA receptors to make them even more inhibitory. Second, it binds to glutamate receptors, preventing glutamate from exciting the neuron. This leads to a decrease in neural activity in the frontal lobe, which affects motor movement, emotion, decision making and judgement. I'm not supporting binge drinking and alcohol, nor am I condemning it. The choice is yours and so are the consequences.