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Alcohol and its Effects Essay

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Alcohol and its Effects

Does the brain control all forms of behavior? Is everything we do, say, think and feel a direct output from nothing but the brain? Is it justifiable to think of the brain as interconnected box within box with inputs and outputs? The focus of this paper is on the input alcohol and how the processes generate a certain type of behavior output. This focus of alcohol input and behavior output will demonstrate that indeed brain is and does equal all forms of behavior.

When alcohol is inputted into our brain, it induces many forms of typical behavior outputs such as impaired judgement, extreme emotion, and slowed behavior. Long-term effects include damage in cognitive behavior especially associated with the …show more content…

The role of neurotransmitters in the brain is to either stimulate or inhibit the flow of an impulse between neurons. The GABA is an example of a neurotransmitter that is used as an inhibitor, where the 5 HT and dopamine can have either function of stimulating or inhibiting impulse, depending on what area of the brain it is at. All three neurotransmitters are involved in influencing some type of behavior through their inhibition or stimulation. The 5 HT for example, is known to have the most diverse functions in influencing all kinds of behavior. The influence of behavior is caused by the binding of the serotonin to its receptor, which then stimulates small molecules to form within the cell, which then in turn act with other proteins to activate various cellular functions. These cellular functions result in either stimuli or inhibition and "through these mechanisms, serotinin can influence mood states, thinking patterns, emotion and motivation." (2). The 5 HT also "appear to involve control of appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, mood, behavior, cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, endocrine regulation, and depression." (2 ).

Although not as diverse as the 5 HT, the GABA and dopamine are also involved in influencing certain behaviors. Many GABA neurons for example, are found in the hippocampal

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