Research project: Exploiting C. elegans to provide insight into neural substrates of human alcohol dependence
Human alcohol (ethanol) consumption has a longstanding position within many societies despite the fact that its serious negative effects can sometimes outweigh its positive effects. Although alcohol has a very simple chemical structure it is a drug that has profound immediate effects on human behavior from relaxation and loss of social inhibition, through slurred speech and unsteady gait, to loss of consciousness and death. These changes in the pattern of behavior with increasing alcohol intake reflect its complex effects on the brain. There is also variation in the impact of alcohol on different people highlighting the fact that an individual’s genetic background and their previous experience with alcohol both play an important role in how alcohol is experienced. Finally, it is often noted that ones' first drink does not taste good but continued drinking sometimes leads to a liking for alcohol which in the extreme can involve the development of dependence. Once dependence is established an individual’s life can become dominated by a need to maintain a supply and avoid unpleasant symptoms that are experienced when alcohol is withdrawn.
