PSYC 311 Chapter Notes - Chapter 18.8: Anxiolytic, Reinforcement, Apoptosis
9 Jun 2016
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Alcohol has enormous costs- from car accidents, to chronic alcoholism, to violence and aggression, the risks for fetal development and retardation, esp. during the last trimester of pregnancy by acting on gaba and nmda receptors triggering apoptosis. At low doses, alcohol produces mild euphoria, and it has an anxiolytic effect, that is, it reduces discomfort and anxiety. At high doses, it produces incoordination and sedation. In animal studies, the anxiolytic effects of alcohol manifest themselves as a release from the punishing effects of aversive stimuli. The phenomenon explains why people often do things thy normally would not do when they have had too much to drink; the alcohol removes the inhibitory effect of social controls on behaviour. It is likely the unique combination of stimulating and anxiolytic effects, i. e. of positive and negative reinforcement, that make alcohol so difficult for people to resist.
