• 🇳🇿 🇲🇲 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇦🇺 🇦🇶 🇮🇳
    Australian & Asian
    Drug Discussion


    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

Serotonergic Dysfunction Linked With Alcoholism

Bootlegger

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Messages
222
The Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory and Application
Serotonergic Dysfunction Linked With Alcoholism
[DATA 20(10):1,7, 2001. © 2001 by Manisses Communications Group, Inc.]
A number of scientific studies now suggest that alcoholism may be associated with dysfunction in the neurotransmission of serotonin, according to an article published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
In a review of studies investigating the role of serotonin in drinking, depression and anxiety, researcher Andreas Heinz, M.D., and colleagues from Germany's Central Institute of Mental Health, conclude that serotonin may be associated with high levels of tolerance for alcohol, as well as with antisocial personality traits that may predispose individuals to impulsivity and risk-taking.
According to the researchers, animal studies have linked low serotonin turnover rates with early social stress, aggression and impulsivity. A study of adult rhesus macaque monkeys who were separated from their mothers and peer-raised (i.e., they experienced social separation) found that these monkeys had both lower serotonin turnover rates and a predisposition to excessive alcohol intake.
Serotonin concentration was reduced even further when these monkeys were completely separated from their peers. The researchers found that these monkeys displayed increased anxiety and were more likely to be aggressive adults. They displayed a behavior pattern consistent with that found in "type 2 alcoholics" as defined by Cloninger. These alcoholics demonstrate early disease onset, impulsivity and antisocial personality traits and have been found to have low serotonin turnover.
Other studies have determined that serotonin turnover rate is influenced both by genetics and by environment. The authors report that the inheritability of serotonin turnover is 42 percent in nonhuman primates and 35 percent in humans. Environmental factors may have a long-lasting impact on the serotonin system in humans as well as in monkeys. For example, unstable pre-adoption placement, a form of early social separation stress, has been found to be associated with excessive alcohol consumption in adulthood.
Serotonin dysfunction also has been associated with negative mood states -- such as anxiety and depression -- and some researchers have suggested that these states may eventually lead to alcoholism. A study of male alcoholics who abstained from alcohol for more than four weeks found significantly reduced serotonin transporters in the brainstem, a reduction that was correlated with the amount of lifetime alcohol withdrawal. A similar reduction has been observed among patients with major depression.
Other research suggests that the serotonin system supports "regenerative" behaviors such as eating, relaxation, growth, sleep, passivity and inactivity by creating a "protective filter effect" that promotes feelings of security and tranquility. Individuals with a serotonin deficit may feel insecure and threatened, feelings that may lead to increased aggression.
Low serotonin levels also are found among late-onset alcoholics. Researchers suggest that in some alcoholics, excess drinking may itself damage the serotonergic system and lead to the maintenance of alcohol dependence. Scientists have found that increased availability of serotonin transporters and a low serotonin turnover rate may be associated with a low response to the negative effects of alcohol, such as ataxia or sedation. This lower response may in turn result in heavy alcohol intake thus leading to the development of alcoholism.
Other researchers suggest that such a genetic predisposition alone is insufficient to account for the development of alcoholism and that environmental factors, such as early social stress, may combine with genetic predisposition in the development of problem drinking.
The authors conclude that serotonergic dysfunction is associated with negative mood states and impulsive aggression, and may contribute to some of the behavioral traits found in early-onset alcoholics. Chronic alcohol consumption may lead to depression and anxiety that interact with the long-term risk of relapse. In some genetically predisposed individuals, serotonin dysfunction has been shown to be associated with a low response to alcohol. Further studies are needed in order to clarify the role of serotonin in the development and maintenance of alcoholism.
Heinz A, Mann K, Weinberger DR, et al.: Serotonergic dysfunction, negative mood states, and response to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 2001; 25: 487-495.
Suggested Reading
Le Marquand D, Phil RO, et al.: Serotonin and alcohol intake, abuse and dependence: Clinical evidence. Biol Psychiatry 1994b; 36:326-337.
McBride WJ, Li TK: Animal models of alcoholism: Neurobiology of high alcohol-drinking behavior in rodents. Crit Rev Neurobiol 1998; 12:339-369.
------------------
And the Mission is the Mouse...
 
Top