Work

Alcohol, neural stem cells, and adult neurogenesis.

Year: 2003

Type: article

Abstract: Recent research demonstrates that neural stem cells divide throughout life and give rise to new neurons, a process known as neurogenesis. This article addresses two principal questions concerning alcohol and adult neurogenesis: To what extent are neurogenesis in the adult brain and the risk for alcoholism governed by similar factors? And, to what extent and through what mechanisms do alcohol use and alcoholism affect adult neurogenesis? This article also discusses genetic and environmental influences on risk for alcoholism and on regulation of neurogenesis; the possibility that modulation of neurogenesis contributes to alcoholic pathology; and the evidence that alcohol disrupts neurogenesis in the adult brain, and the neurochemical processes by which this may occur.

Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)

Authors: Fulton T Crews, Kim Nixon

Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Language: English

Topic: Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Subfield: Developmental Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Award: Ethanol Effects on Neurotransmission