Question 1
| Question: | Is ethanol a stimulant or a depressant drug? Why is this often confused? |
| Answer: | Ethanol is a drug that depresses the CNS but at low doses its effects may appear stimulatory as ethanol seems to decrease the ability of aversive events causing disinhibition to normal inhibitions. |
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| Question: | Alcohol was onced dubbed the 'water of life'. Has it demonstrated any reliable therapeutic value? |
| Answer: | No. |
| Question: | What are some effects of chronic alcohol use? |
| Answer: | Tolerance and dependence. |
| Question: | Rather than binding to specific receptor sites, how does alcohol affect brain physiology? |
| Answer: | Alcohol dissolves in the lipid layer of membranes causing a change in the fluidity of cell membranes. |
| Question: | Why is pinpointing a site of action of alcohol effects difficult? |
| Answer: | Because alcohol affects virtually all neurochemical and endocrine systems. |
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Keith Trujillo, Ph.D.
Andrea B. Chinn
Comments to author: keith_trujillo@csusm.edu
All contents copyright (C) 1996, Keith Trujillo, Ph.D. All rights reserved.