Lecture 13: Alcohol

Question 1

What is the functional group that defines alcohols?

Answer 1

Oxygen plus a proton (hydroxyl groups)

Question 2

What are the characteristics of ethanol?

Answer 2

• Small
• Water soluble
• Freely crosses membranes

Question 3

What is beer made from?

Answer 3

Grains

Question 4

What is wine made from?

Answer 4

Grapes

Question 5

Where does Vodka and Gin come from?

Answer 5

Potatoes

Question 6

Which spirit is made from molasses?

Answer 6

Rum

Question 7

What is Agave used to make?

Answer 7

Tequila

Question 8

How does low pH effect ethanol?

Answer 8

It does not alter ethanol so as it passes through the stomach nothing happens to it

Question 9

Where does most of the absorption of ethanol occur?

Answer 9

In the small intestine

Question 10

In which population is BAC higher?

Answer 10

In females

Question 11

What contributes to BAC after one drink being higher in females?

Answer 11

Females are generally smaller and less lean

Question 12

How does a full stomach affect the peak BAC?

Answer 12

It slows absorption and lowers peak BAC

Question 13

Which people have lower BAC?

Answer 13

Larger people and leaner people

Question 14

What allows ethanol to get into the brain?

Answer 14

Ethanol’s small size

Question 15

What is the difference between the BAC of men and women?

Answer 15

In general, men can have more drinks and have lower BACs

Question 16

What are the effects of alcohol consumption on the behavior?

Answer 16

• Inhibited decision making and judgements
• Unstable mood and heightened emotions
• Decreased anxiety
• Increased aggression
• Increased addiction

Question 17

What are the Physiological effects of alcohol consumption?

Answer 17

• Dilation of blood vessels in the skin
• Reduced blood clotting
• Increased HDL levels

Question 18

What kind of kinetics does alcohol follow?

Answer 18

Zero order kinetics

Question 19

What is zero order kinetics?

Answer 19

No matter what does is administered, there is a linear decrease in blood alcohol concentration

Question 20

What are the main enzymes for alcohol elimination?

Answer 20

Alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase

Question 21

What limits the enzymes needed to metabolize alcohol?

Answer 21

They saturate quickly, and require NAD+ to operate

Question 22

By what intervals do the alcohol enzymes work?

Answer 22

8g/hr or 0.015 BAC elimination per hour

Question 23

What amount of alcohol is exhaled?

Answer 23

1/2200 of BAC

Question 24

What kind of curve is seen in BAC curves?

Answer 24

A biphasic curve

Question 25

What are the two phases of BAC?

Answer 25

* BAC rises stimulant ➡️ | * BAC declines ➡️ depressant

Question 26

What is personality like in the first phase?

Answer 26

Increased sociability, decreased anxiety

Question 27

What neurotransmitters does ethanol modulate?

Answer 27

Glutamate and GABA

Question 28

What does glutamate do?

Answer 28

Depolarizes cells and activates neurons

Question 29

What does GABA do?

Answer 29

Inhibits activation of neurons

Question 30

How does ethanol affect Glutamate and GABA neurons?

Answer 30

Ethanol inhibits Glutamate neurons and stimulates GABA neurons

Question 31

What is the shift toward due to ethanol?

Answer 31

Hyperpolarization/Inhibition

Question 32

How does EtOH affect GABA receptors?

Answer 32

Causes potentiation of GABAa receptors causing hyperpolarization of downstream neurons

Question 33

How does EtOH affect Glu-NMDA receptors and voltage gated calcium channels?

Answer 33

Inhibits them preventing activation of downstream neurons

Question 34

Why does Asphyxiation occur in lethal doses of alcohol?

Answer 34

Because it causes depressed activity in autonomic centres

Question 35

What type of receptors are GABAa receptors?

Answer 35

Cys-loop ligand-gated channel superfamily receptors

Question 36

What is meant by GABAa receptors are heteropentameric receptors?

Answer 36

They contain two alpha subunits, two beta subunits, and one other

Question 37

What do GABAa receptors conduct?

Answer 37

Negative chloride into neurons

Question 38

Which receptors are inhibited by EtOH?

Answer 38

NMDA receptors

Question 39

What kind of receptors are NMDA receptors?

Answer 39

Ionotropic Glu receptor superfamily

Question 40

What subunits do NMDA receptors usually contain?

Answer 40

2 NR1 subunits either 2 NR2 or 2 NR3 subunits

Question 41

What do NMDA receptors conduct?

Answer 41

Positive currents in neurons depolarizing them

Question 42

Why is Alcohol addicitve?

Answer 42

GABA neurons release inhibitory neurotransmitters onto DA receptors. If glutamate neurons are inhibited by EtOH they cannot tell GABA to release inhibitory GABA onto DA receptors causing an increased release of DA. It disinhibits dopamine receptors

Question 43

Why does increased vasodilation in the skin occur with alcohol?

Answer 43

The outputs to vessels go down causing vasodilation

Question 44

How does alcohol affect the stomach?

Answer 44

It cause loss of the stomach mucosal lining

Question 45

Why does the spins occur?

Answer 45

EtOH permeates the endolymph and cupula. Then BAC starts to decline and EtOH diffuses out of the cupula before the endolymph. This makes the cupula more dense than the endolymph and so it does not stabilize when lying down and detects this as motion causing the spins

Question 46

At what BAC does the spins occur?

Answer 46

0.04

Question 47

How does the body express alcohol tolerance?

Answer 47

It up regulates the enzymes that metabolize alcohol

Question 48

What is ethanol converted to?

Answer 48

A calorie dense acetate molecule

Question 49

What happens to the acetate produced from alcohol?

Answer 49

It can enter the citric acid cycle and generate energy

Question 50

What trimester is most susceptible to fetal alcohol spectrum disease?

Answer 50

3rd trimester

Question 51

How does alcohol affect the brain?

Answer 51

It causes shrinkage of brain mass and overall function of the brain decreases due to acetaldehyde which is an ethanol metabolite

Question 52

Where does alcohol increase cancer risk?

Answer 52

In the upper GI tract and stomach

Question 53

Why does alcohol increase cancer?

Answer 53

It is metabolized by microflora increasing acetaldehyde concentration in the GI tract which is a carcinogen and interferes with DNA synthesis