Alcohol, the cause of and solution to so many of life

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Alcohol, the cause of and solution to so many of
lifes problems

• Psychology 3506

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Introduction

• Most alcohols are not consumed
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Methyl alcohol
• The stuff we drink is ethyl alcohol or ethanol
• People have been making and drinking alcohol for
  a LONG time

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The Mesopotamians

• Had a goddess of brewing!
• Oldest beer recipe
• Seems they started civilization so they could
  have a cold one!

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Borne of the flowing water,Tenderly cared for by
the Ninhursag,Borne of the flowing
water,Tenderly cared for by the
Ninhursag,Having founded your town by the
sacred lake,She finished its great walls for
you,Ninkasi, having founded your town by the
sacred lake,She finished it's walls for
you,Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,Your
mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred
lake.Ninkasi, your father is Enki, Lord
Nidimmud,Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the
sacred lake.You are the one who handles the
dough and with a big shovel,Mixing in a pit,
the bappir with sweet aromatics,Ninkasi, you are
the one who handles the dough and with a big
shovel,Mixing in a pit, the bappir with date -
honey,
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You are the one who bakes the bappir in the big
oven,Puts in order the piles of hulled
grains,Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes the
bappir in the big oven,Puts in order the piles
of hulled grains,You are the one who waters the
malt set on the ground,The noble dogs keep away
even the potentates,Ninkasi, you are the one who
waters the malt set on the ground,The noble dogs
keep away even the potentates,You are the one
who soaks the malt in a jar,The waves rise, the
waves fall.Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks
the malt in a jar,The waves rise, the waves
fall.You are the one who spreads the cooked
mash on large reed mats,Coolness
overcomes,Ninkasi, you are the one who spreads
the cooked mash on large reed mats,Coolness
overcomes,
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You are the one who holds with both hands the
great sweet wort,Brewing it with honey and
wine(You the sweet wort to the vessel)Ninkasi,
(...)(You the sweet wort to the vessel)The
filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound,You
place appropriately on a large collector
vat.Ninkasi, the filtering vat, which makes a
pleasant sound,You place appropriately on a
large collector vat.When you pour out the
filtered beer of the collector vat,It is like
the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates.Ninkasi, you
are the one who pours out the filtered beer of
the collector vat,It is like the onrush of
Tigris and Euphrates.
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Fermentation

• You start with sugar, which you can get from many
  sources
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Grain (malted and unmalted)
• Malted grain
• Wet grain, allow to sprout
• Sugars
• dry

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Fermentation

• You can malt most any grain, barley, rye, wheat
  etc
• Start a mash
• DONT BOIL
• Mash is sparged
• Wort is boiled
• Add yeast or bacteria

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Fermentation

• Ale yeast
• Saccharomyces cervisisiae
• Top fermenting
• Warmer
• Lager yeast
• S. uvarum (carlsbergensis)
• Bottom fermented
• Colder
• cleaner

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Fermentation

• Bacteria can be used for specialty brews
• Brettanmyces bruxellensis and B. lambicus
• Originally airborne yeasts were used
• Now pure cultures

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Distillation

• Alcohol boils at 78C
• Water boils at 100C
• So, boil it, collect the vapour and enjoy
• Or freeze
• Both of these are illegal BTW

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Measurement of alcohol in the body

• Blood Alcohol Level (BAL)
• mg / 100 ml of blood
• Or percentage
• mmol / litre
• Not as common in popular parlance, but more
  common in scientific literature

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Route of Administration

• Absorption
• When faster than excretion
• Plateau
• Note that the alcohol is excreted at a constant
  rate, unlike other drugs

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Absorption

• Most absorption takes place in your gut
• Alcohol cannot be ionized, so Ph does not affect
  absorption
• First pass metabolism in stomach
• Alcohol dehydrogenase
• Women have less than men
• Abstainers have more
• Beer stays in stomach longer
• Bubbles make it faster
• High concentration make it faster

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Distribution

• Alcohol does not dissolve in fat, so more
  percentage of body fat, the higher the peak BAL
• In males, higher BAL with age
• Circulates through lungs, so you can smell it on
  your breath

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Excretion

• Mostly metabolized by the liver
• Alcohol dehydrogenase converts it to acetaldehyde
• Next it is converted into acetyl coenzyme A
• Also there is the microsomal ethanol oxidizing
  system.
• Works harder with more in system
• Disabled by continued heavy drinking
• Also used in barbiturate metabolism!

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Neuropharmacology

• Still not that well understood
• Depresses function of ion channel in glutamate
  receptors
• After chronic use the brain sort of adjusts
• Might be the cause of withdrawal symptoms
• RO 15-4513 seems to be an alcohol antagonist

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Effects

• Dilation of blood vessels
• Loss of heat
• REM decreases
• More talkative, higher pitch, louder
• During absorption, euphoria
• During excretion, lethargy
• Decrease in visual acuity
• Memory effects
• Blackouts

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Give me my keys, I drive better when I am drunk

• Reaction time
• Perceptual effects
• Memory problems
• Steadiness
• Effects last longer than just when alcohol is in
  the system!
• Worse for young drivers

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Disinhibition

• Seems to weaken cortical -gt motor connections
• Hard to stop
• In vino veritas
• Worst day for spousal abuse in the USA is Super
  Bowl Sunday

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Tolerance and Withdrawal

• Acute and chronic tolerance
• MEOS
• Behavioural tolerance
• Minor withdrawal (like a hangover)
• Major withdrwal
• 12 hr later
• DTs

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Self administration

• Rats will self administer, if their mother did
  (Honey, 1998)
• Cultural effects
• Age effects
• Sex effects
• Consumption is affected by price, availability

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Alcoholism

• Disease model
• Jellinek
• Physical dependence
• Tolerance
• Loss of control
• FHP
• Subtle differences

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Bad Stuff

• Alcohol poisoning
• Hangover
• Bad behaviour
• Sex
• Liver
• Korsakoffs syndrome
• FAS / FAE
• Cancer

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Good stuff!

• Heart disease!
• Originally thought it was just the tannins in red
  wine
• Then beer
• Now hard stuff
• A couple of drinks a day is good for you

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Treatments

• AA
• Antidepressants
• Behaviour therapy
• Cold turkey