CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE OF ALCOHOLISM

Recent advances in neuroscience have made it possible to investigate t he pathophysiology of alcoholism at a cellular and molecular level. Ev idence indicates that ethanol affects hormone- and neurotransmitter-ac tivated signal transduction, leading to short-term changes in regulati on of cellular functions and long-term changes in gene expression. Suc h changes in the brain probably underlie many of the acute and chronic neurological events in alcoholism. In addition, genetic vulnerability also plays a role in alcoholism and, perhaps, in alcoholic medical di sorders.