- An infant is extraordinarily sensitive to its mother’s behavior
- Baby rats nursed by their intoxicated mothers exhibit greater overall distress and aversion to alcohol
- The infants’ distress and aversion seem dependent on maternal reaction to alcohol
- Alcohol’s…
The Power of the Mother-Child Bond
Mighty Things From Small Beginnings
- Tiny fragments of cells called platelets are responsible for clotting
- Clotting after injury stops bleeding; clotting within a blood vessel can obstruct blood flow to the heart muscle, leading to a heart attack
- Alcohol may ‘thin’ the blood, thereby reducing the chances of…
Biomarkers: Testing for Alcohol Consumption Among Women
- Heavy alcohol consumption can cause biochemical changes in the body
- Testing for specific biochemical markers is one way of establishing the likelihood of problem drinking
- Biochemical markers tend to be less sensitive for women than for men
In addition to…
African-American Alcoholics: At Greater Risk for Immune Disorders?
- Alcoholism is known to compromise the immune system
- African-American alcoholics are at greater risk for certain infectious diseases
- African-American ethnicity, in conjunction with alcoholism, seems to signify a more compromised immune system
- These immune…
Some Alcoholics May Self-Medicate With Carbohydrates Between Drinks
- Alcoholics have reduced levels of serotonin, a brain chemical
- Alcohol increases serotonin levels, as do carbohydrates
- Those alcoholics with high cravings for carbohydrates have a unique response to specific diets
- Carbohydrate craving may be an important clue in…
“Falling Down Drunk” Is Not a Laughing Matter
- Excessive alcohol consumption clearly has a deleterious effect on brain structure and function
- Gait and balance, followed by visuospatial abilities, show the greatest alcohol-related deficits
- Two principal neural systems, the cerebellar-frontal and the corticocortical…
Parenting, Stress and Your Child’s Risk for Alcoholism
- A recent study has found that the absence of a parent as role model can be stressful for infants
- Concentrations of cortisol, a principal stress hormone, can indicate levels of stress
- Infant monkeys who had high cortisol levels as a stress response later drank heavily as…
Alcohol and Thiamine Deficiency Together: A Dangerous Combination?
- Heavy alcohol use is associated with thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency
- Alcohol and thiamine deficiency together may have a more damaging impact on the brain
- Learning and reference memory appear to be the most sensitive to their synergistic effects
- The role of…
Can Heavy Alcohol Use Lead to Some Kinds of Cancer?
- A significant proportion of Asians lack the aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) gene
- Acetaldehyde is produced in saliva while drinking alcohol
- ALDH2-deficient individuals who drink heavily appear unable to eliminate salivary acetaldehyde
- These same individuals…
Using PET Scan Technology to Study Alcohol’s Effects on the Brain
- Alcohol has both sedative-like and stimulant-like effects on the brain
- Benzodiazepines, which have a sedative effect, are used as sleeping pills
- Alcohol and benzodiazepines both facilitate brain GABA activity, which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter system in the…