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Neurotransmitters in alcoholism: A review of neurobiological and genetic studies - PubMed

Review

Neurotransmitters in alcoholism: A review of neurobiological and genetic studies

Niladri Banerjee. Indian J Hum Genet. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Recent advances in the study of alcoholism have thrown light on the involvement of various neurotransmitters in the phenomenon of alcohol addiction. Various neurotransmitters have been implicated in alcohol addiction due to their imbalance in the brain, which could be either due to their excess activity or inhibition. This review paper aims to consolidate and to summarize some of the recent papers which have been published in this regard. The review paper will give an overview of the neurobiology of alcohol addiction, followed by detailed reviews of some of the recent papers published in the context of the genetics of alcohol addiction. Furthermore, the author hopes that the present text will be found useful to novices and experts alike in the field of neurotransmitters in alcoholism.

Keywords: alcoholism; dopamine; glutamate; serotonin; γ-amino butyric acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Diagram depicting the difference in the quantities of dopamine receptors in the brain of a methamphetamine addict (right) and non-addict (left)

Figure 2
Figure 2

Diagram depicting the dopamine (blue) and serotonin pathways (red) in the brain along with the respective functions of each

Figure 3
Figure 3

Diagram depicting the various regions of the brain under the influence of serotonin

Figure 4
Figure 4

Diagram depicting the difference between the 5’-hydroxtryptamine transporter (5-HTT) long allele and 5-HTT short allele

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