at the U.S. Department of Energy and first author of the study, "but alcohol actually has a dual effect. In general, most people initially feel euphoric and stimulated after drinking alcohol, but later feel sleepy and sedated. The sedative effect is similar to that of Ativan, a sleeping pill. We wanted to compare the activity of the brain during alcohol intoxication with that seen after administration of a sedative drug. For this purpose, we used positron emission tomography (PET), an imaging method that allowed us to measure the consumption of sugar by the different regions of the brain, which served as an indicator of their level of activity." Wang added that since PET imaging was developed in the late 1970s, it has been used for cancer, heart and brain (including alcohol) research.
The study used PET technology to scan and compare the effects of a moderately high dose of alcohol (equivalent to three glasses of wine) with the effects of the benzodiazepine drug Ativan, which had been investigated in an earlier study. In both studies, the subjects were healthy, 'normal' males. In other words, none was an alcoholic.
"This study uses a unique technology -- namely, PET scans -- that allows us to look at the effects of alcohol on brain function while the person is awake," said Harriet de Wit, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago. "Different researchers have been looking at the effects of drugs on brain activity using this technology, and this study uses it to look at alcohol. In addition, it compares the findings from this study with those from an earlier study on a drug which has a known effect on one neurotransmitter."
"We found that both drugs induced marked reductions in whole brain activity," said Volkow. "The reductions were most accentuated in the occipital cortex (visual area) and in the cerebellum (an area involved with motor control), which we believe is due to the fact that these areas h
'"/>
Contact: Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
volkow@bnl.gov
631-344-3335
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
21-Jun-2000
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