Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2005
Comparative StudyTrends and determinants of alcohol consumption in Portugal: results from the national health surveys 1995 to 1996 and 1998 to 1999.
There is very little information on trends and determinants of alcohol consumption in the Portuguese population, which is usually characterized by high wine consumption. ⋯ The pattern of alcohol consumption is changing in Portugal: the prevalence of drinkers is decreasing, and younger generations are shifting from wine to beer and spirits. Educational level seems to be a powerful mediator in the choice of alcoholic beverage.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jan 2005
Comparative StudyGlycine receptors regulate dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens.
The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system seems to be centrally involved in regulating reward-related behavior and consequently has been implicated in addictive processes, such as alcoholism and drug addiction. This DA system has also been implicated in psychosis and in regulating hedonia/anhedonia, important components of mania and depression. Given the potentially great importance of the mesolimbic DA system for several psychiatric disorders, it is of major interest to delineate the mechanisms and dynamics underlying DA regulation and release. Recently strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors (GlyR) have attracted some interest in this matter. ⋯ The present results indicate that GlyRs in the nAc are tonically activated and of importance for regulating extracellular DA levels. The possibility of pharmacologically interfering with GlyRs to combat psychiatric disorders, in which the mesolimbic DA system is implicated, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and psychosis, should be explored.