1. Alcohol and the brain: from genes to circuits
- Author
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Egervari, Gabor, Siciliano, Cody A, Whiteley, Ellanor L, and Ron, Dorit
- Subjects
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Biological Psychology ,Neurosciences ,Psychology ,Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences ,Genetics ,Alcoholism ,Alcohol Use and Health ,Substance Misuse ,Brain Disorders ,Aetiology ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,Mental health ,Neurological ,Good Health and Well Being ,Alcoholism ,Brain ,Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly ,Ethanol ,Humans ,Neurons ,alcohol ,central nervous system ,epigenetics ,intracellular signaling ,neural circuits ,Cognitive Sciences ,Neurology & Neurosurgery ,Biological psychology ,Clinical and health psychology - Abstract
Alcohol use produces wide-ranging and diverse effects on the central nervous system. It influences intracellular signaling mechanisms, leading to changes in gene expression, chromatin remodeling, and translation. As a result of these molecular alterations, alcohol affects the activity of neuronal circuits. Together, these mechanisms produce long-lasting cellular adaptations in the brain that in turn can drive the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide an update on alcohol research, focusing on multiple levels of alcohol-induced adaptations, from intracellular changes to changes in neural circuits. A better understanding of how alcohol affects these diverse and interlinked mechanisms may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and to the development of much-needed novel and efficacious treatment options.
- Published
- 2021