100619: Why Do Some People Drink Too Much?

About the Course:

Course includes two brief articles. (1) The actions of alcohol that cause intoxication, initiate and maintain excessive drinking behavior, and promote relapse during abstinence occur primarily in the brain. A thorough understanding of alcohol’s effects on the mechanisms underlying brain function is essential to develop and improve alcoholism prevention and treatment strategies. This article is not an exhaustive overview of alcoholism neurobiology, but a sampling of the more significant recent advances in the field. (2) By identifying the proteins that genes encode and the mechanisms by which the genes influence an animal’s biochemical response to alcohol, scientists can gain insight into the features of human alcoholism and provide a basis for developing pharmaceuticals that short-circuit these genetically defined processes.

Author

Alcohol Research and Health

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, psychologists, and other human services and behavioral health professionals who seek knowledge about alcohol and its genetic, psychosocial and neurobehavioral factors. It is appropriate for participants with intermediate to advanced levels of knowledge about the topic.

Course Objectives:

1. understand alcohol\’s effects on the mechanisms underlying brain function.

2. become familiar with recent research findings on the genetic risk factors for alcohol abuse.

3. recognize the psychosocial issues that contribute to the development and maintenance of alcoholism.