How Does Alcohol Affect the Release of Dopamine in the Reward System?

Question by ????g???: How does alcohol affect the release of dopamine in the reward system?
I know that cocaine prevents the reuptake of dopamine, and meth does, too, as well as increasing the release of dopamine. But what does alcohol do? I can’t seem to find a website that says.

Best answer:

Answer by kathjarq
Alcohol appears to inhibit the release of dopamine in the reward system. The drugs you mention do, as you say, block the re-uptake of dopamine and keep it available in the system longer. It is produced from from those parts of the limbic system responsible for reacting to emotional and physical stimuli; as you said, in the reward system.

When more of these receptor re-uptake sites become unavailable because of all this blocking, (some drugs wiping out a great number each time) more of those chemical stimuli are required to get to a similar level as the original really good one. Dopamine controls drive, motivation, energy, and it can cause intense focus, concentration and interest in whatever the attention is turned to for as long as it is present. It affects the more basic pleasure centres of our brain, since it releases the excitor neurotransmitters that get us charged up and heighten our senses. Without it we’d be really blaaaahh and lethargic. I only mention all that as it is pertinent to its interaction with alcohol.

When combined with alcohol, dopamine “loses its edge” somewhat, as alcohol inhibits the activity in the post-synaptic neurons, preventing them from giving up their load, which would, given the right stimuli, release large amounts of dopamine into the system.

Alcohol does not combine well with what the central nervous system has geared up to dol. Dopamine excites to action, but alcohol ends up inhibiting it, which completely alters the effects dopamine would normally produce.
Alcohol also uses a different set of hormonal neurotransmitters, which have an impact on a different set of emotional triggers in the reward network. Alcohol, nicotine, heroin, ecstasy MDMA, mushrooms, LSD and DMT work on serotonin rather than dopamine, producing vastly differing results and effects.

If dopaminehas already put the central nervous system into high gear by being present in the system before the alcohol is introduced, the alcohol may not turn off the dopamine exactly, but it does change the chemical dynamic downward.

Not only do these chemicals mediate the more obvious emotions of anger/joy/anxiety/love……. they also conduct the orchestra, so to speak, when there are any behavioural anomalies, including many addictions presenting in a remarkable number of ways.

Although there have been studies done to determine the effect alcohol has on both dopamine production and its re-uptake, using positron emission tomography scans (PET scans) so far little evidence has been found that alcohol measurably affects dopamine levels. Those tests, however, were done using differing criteria than those I cited.

Due to a miriad of reasons, many people have slightly or considerably “off” brain chemistry, affecting every area of their physical and mental lives.
Interestingly, contrary to the imression given on commercials promoting anti depressants, there is no way of measuring levels of these electro-chemical hormonal messengers we call neurotransmitters in a living person, so there is no known “balanced guideline” to go by, as many suggest. Hmmmm.

I don’t know if this helps at all; hope it does a bit. I tend to get a tad carried away sometimes. I never know if someone is interested in the why and how of it all, or just want the facts, ma’am.
DAMN this is long, and I deleted 6 paragraphs, too…

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