Short-term effects of alcohol – Addiction Treatment Strategies

A polymorphism of the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) and sensitivity to the effects of alcohol in humans.
Ray LA, Hutchison KE.
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent research has implicated the endogenous opioid system in the development of…

ScienceDaily  —
Excessive alcohol consumption appears to be associated with changes in some surgical skills performed on virtual reality simulator testing the following day, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“While…

New Leads on the Causes of Alcoholism
ScienceDaily
— In order to develop new medications for alcoholism, researchers need to understand how alcohol acts on the brain’s reward system. A previously unknown mechanism has been shown to block the rewarding effects of alcohol on the…

ScienceDaily
Drinking excess alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) due to the damaging effects of alcohol on a developing baby’s brain. Despite its harmful effects, pregnant mothers continue to drink alcohol — up to 3 in every 1000 babies are born with…

First direct evidence that response to alcohol depends on genes: Dopamine receptor deficiency leads to significant brain changes in response to drinking
ScienceDaily– A study in mice provides the first experimental evidence to directly support the idea that genetic differences make…