Drinking
alcohol is associated with aggressive behavior, accidents and ill health. Yet
many of us choose to drink socially. This may reflect alcohol's actions on
specific brain circuits which make us feel euphoric and less anxious. Alcohol
may also make us more empathic and cause us to see other people as more
attractive. But why do these reactions occur and are the positive effects of
alcohol expressed towards everybody we interact with?
Alcohol
is a drug, one of the three most commonly used in the world, along with
nicotine and caffeine. When we drink, the alcohol binds to a specific type of
receptor in the brain and boosts the activity of a natural brain chemical
called GABA. The effect the alcohol has on us depends in large part on the dose,
and the location of these GABA receptors within the brain.
Early
on in a drinking session, the alcohol acts on GABA systems to boost the levels
of dopamine, the brain's reward chemical. This gives a sense of well-being and
a sense of mild euphoria. Alcohol also acts on GABA receptors to impair the
activity of the brain circuits that make us feel anxious and, at higher doses,
alcohol inactivates a second set of brain circuits that control fear. So
threatening stimuli no longer seem quite so scary. Alcohol also compromises our
ability to compute risk so that situations we would normally shy away from may
now seem quite inviting.
All of
this points to alcohol as a facilitator of social interactions. As well as
making us more empathic, laboratory studies have also shown that drinking
alcohol can make us trust others more and make us temporarily more generous.
I agree with the fact that alcohol is a facilitator, because I know it takes a couple of drinks before many people will get up and sing karaoke, or ask someone to dance. It gives the user a euphoric feelings to some people and pick fights with others, and the reasoning of this study is very interesting. ;o)
