Work

Translational studies of alcoholism: bridging the gap.

Year: 2008

Type: review

Abstract: Human studies are necessary to identify and classify the brain systems predisposing individuals to develop alcohol use disorders and those modified by alcohol, while animal models of alcoholism are essential for a mechanistic understanding of how chronic voluntary alcohol consumption becomes compulsive, how brain systems become damaged, and how damage resolves. Our current knowledge of the neuroscience of alcohol dependence has evolved from the interchange of information gathered from both human alcoholics and animal models of alcoholism. Together, studies in humans and animal models have provided support for the involvement of specific brain structures over the course of alcohol addiction, including the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, amygdala, hippocampus, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Source: PubMed

Authors: Natalie M Zahr, Edith V Sullivan

Institutions: SRI International, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Awards: Cerebellar Structure and Function in Alcoholism, Translational Studies of Brain Circuitry Disrupted by Alcoholism, Alcohol: A Modifiable Risk Factor for Ataxia and Decline in MCI