How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain?
Serotonin is an important brain chemical that acts as a neurotransmitter to communicate information among nerve cells. Serotonin’s actions have been linked to alcohol’s effects on the brain and to alcohol abuse. Alcoholics and experimental animals that consume large quantities of alcohol show evidence of differences in brain serotonin levels compared with nonalcoholics. Both short- and long-term alcohol exposure also affect the serotonin receptors that convert the chemical signal produced by serotonin into functional changes in the signal-receiving cell. Drugs that act on these receptors alter alcohol consumption in both humans and animals. Serotonin, along with other neurotransmitters, also may contribute to alcohol’s intoxicating and rewarding effects, and abnormalities in the brain’s serotonin system appear to play an important role in the brain processes underlying alcohol abuse.
- Here we quantified AB toward alcohol and non-drug, reward-conditioned cues and their neural underpinnings after acute dopamine precursor depletion across a broad spectrum of alcohol users.
- For example, they are investigating whether the net increase in synaptic serotonin levels results from alcohol’s direct actions on molecules involved in serotonin release and uptake or from more indirect alcohol effects.
- Based on the knowledge that alcohol can both stimulate dopamine activity as well as induce a hypo‐dopaminergic state, it has been suggested that partial agonists might have potential as novel medications for alcohol dependence.
- This CME/CE credit opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA.
- The net result of such disruptions is abnormal brain activity, which can lead to psychological problems or mental illness.
Activation of 5-HT3 receptor by 1-phenylbiguanide increases dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens
It should also be noted that our study is the first to examine long-term alcohol effects on dopamine release in the putamen of NHPs and to demonstrate that acetylcholine driven dopamine release is conserved across rodent and NHP species. Albeit the preclinical data look promising regarding the glycine transporter‐1 inhibitor Org25935, the multicenter randomized clinical trial produced a negative outcome on alcohol intake, but did not discard the potential importance of the mechanism 207. More promising clinical studies with varenicline show that this agent decreased alcohol consumption and craving in an experimental setting in heavy‐drinking smokers 208–210.
Drug addiction: hyperkatifeia/negative reinforcement as a framework for medications development
In this study, it was shown that alcohol dependency comes with a 4-times increase in the risk of developing a major depressive disorder. Topiramate is another agent used in alcohol dependence which is not only effective in reducing alcohol craving https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcoholism-statistics-you-need-to-know/ but also reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. In the cue-reactivity paradigm, differences scores of all outcomes (AUQ and urge question) were calculated for both the alcohol and neutral condition (i.e., condition minus baseline).
- However, the function of individual neurotransmitters and their receptors cannot entirely explain a syndrome as complex as alcoholism.
- There is the argument that since DRD2 and DRD3 are colocalized, regulation of one receptor subtype (e.g., DRD3 upregulation) may be masked by the regulation of another in the opposite direction (e.g., DRD2 downregulation).
- In the last 20 years, the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) has gained research attention because of its highly localized expression along the mesolimbic dopamine pathway 17, 18 and its distinct drug-related function 19, 20.
- Accordingly, drugs that target serotonergic signal transmission may reduce alcohol consumption partly by improving the co-occurring psychiatric problems and thus eliminating the need for self-medication with alcohol.
Adolescent alcohol exposure epigenetically regulates CREB signaling in the adult amygdala
A small study in twenty alcohol‐dependent individuals, with significant levels of anxiety or depression, showed that tiapride treatment causes a reduced alcohol intake as well as prolonged periods of abstinence 158. In the largest of the studies 159, 100 recently abstinent alcohol‐dependent patients were randomized to 300 mg of tiapride or placebo for a 3‐month treatment period. This study showed that patients receiving medication had higher rates of abstinence and improved on an array of health care outcomes. Reinforcement is a key phenomenon in the development of addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Positive reinforcement is the process by which an action that results in pleasure, or reward, becomes repetitive. Many people find the mental effects of alcohol consumption (e.g., euphoria) rewarding; this effect may lead to positive reinforcement and persistent alcohol-seeking behavior.
- As the VTA is a major nucleus of dopamine cell bodies, we explicitly assessed changes in connectivity with the VTA induced by depletion of dopamine precursors.
- The physiological importance of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system is highlighted by its evolutionary stability and conservation in primitive invertebrates, such as, flatworms, all the way up to primates, including humans.
- These brain regions include the amygdala, an area that plays an important role in the control of emotions, and the nucleus accumbens, a brain area involved in controlling the motivation to perform certain behaviors, including the abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
Scientists postulate that this syndrome represents the hyperactivity alcohol and dopamine of neural adaptive mechanisms no longer balanced by the inhibitory effects of alcohol (see figure). To be honest, while drinking increases a person’s dopamine levels at first, excessive and frequent binge drinking might cause the brain to adapt to the dopamine overflow. Over time, excessive drinking can lead to mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Alcohol abuse can increase your risk for some cancers as well as severe, and potentially permanent, brain damage.
Remarkably, a single exposure to a vasopressinlike chemical while an animal is under the effects of alcohol is followed by long-lasting tolerance to alcohol (Kalant 1993). The development of this long-lasting tolerance depends not only on vasopressin but also on serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine—neurotransmitters with multiple regulatory functions (Tabakoff and Hoffman 1996; Valenzuela and Harris 1997). All psychoactive drugs can activate the mesolimbic DA system, but the DA system is not the only system involved in the positive reinforcement network in the NAc. Previous research about the neurobiochemisty of alcohol dependence has focused on the DA system, but many of the findings have been contradictory. Further research aimed at clarifying the interaction between the DA system, the glutamatergic system and other neurotransmitter systems is needed before it will be possible to improve the effectiveness of interventions for preventing and treating alcohol dependence.
Posted: December 30, 2020 9:25 am
According to Agung Rai
“The concept of taksu is important to the Balinese, in fact to any artist. I do not think one can simply plan to paint a beautiful painting, a perfect painting.”
The issue of taksu is also one of honesty, for the artist and the viewer. An artist will follow his heart or instinct, and will not care what other people think. A painting that has a magic does not need to be elaborated upon, the painting alone speaks.
A work of art that is difficult to describe in words has to be seen with the eyes and a heart that is open and not influenced by the name of the painter. In this honesty, there is a purity in the connection between the viewer and the viewed.
As a through discussion of Balinese and Indonesian arts is beyond the scope of this catalogue, the reader is referred to the books listed in the bibliography. The following descriptions of painters styles are intended as a brief introduction to the paintings in the catalogue, which were selected using several criteria. Each is what Agung Rai considers to be an exceptional work by a particular artist, is a singular example of a given period, school or style, and contributes to a broader understanding of the development of Balinese and Indonesian paintng. The Pita Maha artist society was established in 1936 by Cokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, a royal patron of the arts in Ubud, and two European artists, the Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet, and Walter Spies, a German. The society’s stated purpose was to support artists and craftsmen work in various media and style, who were encouraged to experiment with Western materials and theories of anatomy, and perspective.
The society sought to ensure high quality works from its members, and exhibitions of the finest works were held in Indonesia and abroad. The society ceased to be active after the onset of World War II. Paintings by several Pita Maha members are included in the catalogue, among them; Ida Bagus Made noted especially for his paintings of Balinese religious and mystical themes; and Anak Agung Gde Raka Turas, whose underwater seascapes have been an inspiration for many younger painters.
Painters from the village of Batuan, south of Ubud, have been known since the 1930s for their dense, immensely detailed paintings of Balinese ceremonies, daily life, and increasingly, “modern” Bali. In the past the artists used tempera paints; since the introduction of Western artists materials, watercolors and acrylics have become popular. The paintings are produced by applying many thin layers of paint to a shaded ink drawing. The palette tends to be dark, and the composition crowded, with innumerable details and a somewhat flattened perspective. Batuan painters represented in the catalogue are Ida Bagus Widja, whose paintings of Balinese scenes encompass the sacred as well as the mundane; and I Wayan Bendi whose paintings of the collision of Balinese and Western cultures abound in entertaining, sharply observed vignettes.
In the early 1960s,Arie Smit, a Dutch-born painter, began inviting he children of Penestanan, Ubud, to come and experiment with bright oil paints in his Ubud studio. The eventually developed the Young Artists style, distinguished by the used of brilliant colors, a graphic quality in which shadow and perspective play little part, and focus on scenes and activities from every day life in Bali. I Ketut Tagen is the only Young Artist in the catalogue; he explores new ways of rendering scenes of Balinese life while remaining grounded in the Young Artists strong sense of color and design.
The painters called “academic artists” from Bali and other parts of Indonesia are, in fact, a diverse group almost all of whom share the experience of having received training at Indonesian or foreign institutes of fine arts. A number of artists who come of age before Indonesian independence was declared in 1945 never had formal instruction at art academies, but studied painting on their own. Many of them eventually become instructors at Indonesian institutions. A number of younger academic artists in the catalogue studied with the older painters whose work appears here as well. In Bali the role of the art academy is relatively minor, while in Java academic paintings is more highly developed than any indigenous or traditional styles. The academic painters have mastered Western techniques, and have studied the different modern art movements in the West; their works is often influenced by surrealism, pointillism, cubism, or abstract expressionism. Painters in Indonesia are trying to establish a clear nation of what “modern Indonesian art” is, and turn to Indonesian cultural themes for subject matter. The range of styles is extensive Among the artists are Affandi, a West Javanese whose expressionistic renderings of Balinese scenes are internationally known; Dullah, a Central Javanese recognized for his realist paintings; Nyoman Gunarsa, a Balinese who creates distinctively Balinese expressionist paintings with traditional shadow puppet motifs; Made Wianta, whose abstract pointillism sets him apart from other Indonesian painters.
Since the late 1920s, Bali has attracted Western artists as short and long term residents. Most were formally trained at European academies, and their paintings reflect many Western artistic traditions. Some of these artists have played instrumental roles in the development of Balinese painting over the years, through their support and encouragement of local artist. The contributions of Rudolf Bonnet and Arie Smit have already been mentioned. Among other European artists whose particular visions of Bali continue to be admired are Willem Gerrad Hofker, whose paintings of Balinese in traditional dress are skillfully rendered studies of drapery, light and shadow; Carel Lodewijk Dake, Jr., whose moody paintings of temples capture the atmosphere of Balinese sacred spaces; and Adrien Jean Le Mayeur, known for his languid portraits of Balinese women.
Agung Rai feels that
Art is very private matter. It depends on what is displayed, and the spiritual connection between the work and the person looking at it. People have their own opinions, they may or may not agree with my perceptions.
He would like to encourage visitors to learn about Balinese and Indonesian art, ant to allow themselves to establish the “purity in the connection” that he describes. He hopes that his collection will de considered a resource to be actively studied, rather than simply passively appreciated, and that it will be enjoyed by artists, scholars, visitors, students, and schoolchildren from Indonesia as well as from abroad.
Abby C. Ruddick, Phd
“SELECTED PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE AGUNG RAI FINE ART GALLERY”
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