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Probing Molecular Sites of Action for Alcohol’s Acute and Chronic Effects on Synaptoneurosome Membranes: A Potential Tool for Studying Drug-Receptor Interactions

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Neuropharmacology of Ethanol

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Abstract

Ethanol is active in the central nervous system (CNS), producing a variety of effects when administered acutely. Long-term administration of ethanol produces tolerance and physical dependence. The study of alcohol’s effects on the CNS has been complicated by the absence of a specific binding site that would indicate the primary locus of action for this molecule on the cells of the CNS. Unlike other drugs of abuse such as opiates, psychomotor stimulants and hallucinogens, there is no receptor molecule, reuptake site or ion channel that possesses high affinity binding for ethanol. Historically, Meyer (1906) and Overton (1901) described the solubility of ethanol and its ability to reach rapid equilibrium between the intra- and extracellular environment to explain some of ethanol’s actions on cellular processes and the biophysical state of cells and cellular organelles. The seemingly diverse effects of ethanol on the CNS were explained by a common underlying mechanism: through the distribution of ethanol within the matrix of biological membranes and subsequent alterations in the structure and function of these membranes.

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Authors
  1. R. Preston Mason
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  2. Jill Moring
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  3. Leo G. Herbette
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  4. Roger E. Meyer
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  5. William J. Shoemaker
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA

    Roger E. Meyer M.D.

  2. Department of Psychology, Howard University and O.S.A., N.I.A.A.A., Rockville, MD, 20857, USA

    Michael J. Lewis Ph.D.

  3. Research Institute of the Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    George F. Koob Ph.D.

  4. N.I.H., N.I.M.H., Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Steven M. Paul M.D.

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Mason, R.P., Moring, J., Herbette, L.G., Meyer, R.E., Shoemaker, W.J. (1991). Probing Molecular Sites of Action for Alcohol’s Acute and Chronic Effects on Synaptoneurosome Membranes: A Potential Tool for Studying Drug-Receptor Interactions. In: Meyer, R.E., Lewis, M.J., Koob, G.F., Paul, S.M. (eds) Neuropharmacology of Ethanol. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1305-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1305-3_2

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1307-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1305-3

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