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Adenosine and Ethanol

Is There a Caffeine Connection in the Actions of Ethanol?

  • Chapter
The “Drunken” Synapse

Abstract

The study of the actions of ethanol on the brain has generated a wide range of hypotheses concerning the mechanisms by which it alters neuronal activity. These include relatively non-specific actions (e.g., increases in membrane fluidity), that might ultimately alter the function of proteins embedded in the lipid bilayer. However more recent studies have focused on specific interactions between ethanol with membrane proteins, such as neurotransmitter receptors and voltage-gated ion channels. It has been hypothesized that the interaction is between ethanol and a hydrophobic pocket in the protein molecule (Figure 1). The enhancement or antagonism of the function of such membrane proteins has been posited to underlie the alterations in neural activity that ultimately result in the intoxicating effects of ethanol.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 East 9th Avenue, Denver, Colorado, 80262, USA

    Thomas V. Dunwiddie

  2. Veterans Administration Medical Research Service, Denver VA Medical Center, 1055 Clermont Street, Denver, Colorado, 80220, USA

    Thomas V. Dunwiddie

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  1. Thomas V. Dunwiddie
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Yuan Liu  & Walter A. Hunt  & 

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Dunwiddie, T.V. (1999). Adenosine and Ethanol. In: Liu, Y., Hunt, W.A. (eds) The “Drunken” Synapse. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4739-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4739-6_9

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