Alcoholism And Science Behind Addiction

Alcoholism and science behind addiction

Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that has been used for several centuries and is legally accepted in any country, despite the toxic properties and dependence that it generates. It is defined in chemical terminology, as a wide group of organic compounds derived from hydrocarbons that contain one or more hydroxyl groups (-OH). Ethanol is a compound of this group and is the main psychoactive component of alcoholic beverages.

It is important to define what alcoholism, dependence and risky consumption of alcohol is, since they are the main terms that will be addressed in the present work.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol dependence is a continuous need to consume repeated doses of the psychoactive substance, which generates a deterioration on the control of consumption, with cognitive, physiological and behavioral repercussionsof the adverse effects it generates. The risky consumption of alcohol is defined as the pattern of consumption of a substance that increases the risk of consequences in the physical and mental field of the consumer;In terms of quantity, WHO establishes that regular consumption of 20 to 40 gr daily alcohol in women and 40 to 60 grams in men. 

Brain damage is the main consequence in alcoholics, so to clarify the type of dysfunction they have, electrophysiological and imageological method has been used to establish the association between alcohol consumption and its effects on brain function.

The easiest way to monitor and quantify these changes is through electroencephalography when the individual is at rest. 

The electroencephalographic record has become a biological marker to determine morphological, cognitive and behavioral changes, for complete diagnostic assessment and integration, which allows to strengthen pharmacological and psychotherapy treatment, as well as a genotypic predictor of the tendency to develop pathological disorders associated withthe alcoholism. 

Electroencephalographic measurements are very sensitive to the acute and chronic effects associated with the risky consumption of alcohol. Some data suggest that there is a genetic condition that predisposes to the development of alcoholism and disorders originated by it. Since alcoholism is a nosological entity, it is associated with psychological-behavioral disorders, especially in children and adolescents, associated with uninhibited behavior, with little control, search for sensations (risk) or impulsivity.

The search for sensations has been related to a greater amount and frequency of alcohol consumption, associated with the development of impulsive behavior. 

In order for us to have a better interpretation of changes in electrical activity (mediated by neurotransmitters), a quantitava electroencephalography is needed, which allows, through digital technology and complex mathematical algorithms, identify and define the path of activity frequenciesbrain electric. The spectrum quantifies the activity for each frequency, characterized in absolute and relative power, which is obtained by dividing the activity of each band by total power throughout all the bands located by region region. (3)

Quantitative electroencephalography (EEGC) has been used to determine the brain activity associated with risky alcohol consumption, where it has been observed that the activity of the alpha band decreases in alcoholic subjects. Taking into account that alcohol has the property of changing brain functioning, in studies related to alcohol psychophysiology, a decrease in the frequencies of rapid waves alpha and beta and its association with energy measures and cortical connectivity generated byEvents with an increase in potential risk for alcohol use, due to changes in the activity of oxidase monoamine enzymes (MAO) and dopamine-beet-hydroxylase (DBH), the high levels of the aforementioned neurotransmitters activate the dopaminergic pathwaysacting mainly in the nucleus Accumbens, part of the limbic system that fulfills learning functions associated with rewards. 

This leads us to consider that the risky consumption of alcohol, associated with behavioral changes, is due to the activation of dopaminergic roads and nucleus Accumbens, modifying the activity alpha neuroelectroencephaphraphic in the prefrontal region, which leads us to consider that the neurological connections ofThis specific area of the brain has a great study potential to rethink new preventive treatments for alcohol consumption.

The risky consumption of alcohol associated with the decrease in the activity of the alpha band and impulsive behavior, can be explained with the laterality, which Acosta (2000) states that when talking about laterality, it is a subtle hemispheric specialization of aHemisphere on another in specific cognitive functions, that is, they work simultaneously but with a specialization of either in different tasks. 

Disorders in alcohol consumption (DCA), in our case are the dependence and risky consumption of alcohol, are factors that trigger behavioral disinhibition and that possibly also have a link with alpha laterality. So the manifestations can present a correlation in neurophysiological strokes, presenting different alterations in brain activity in both conditions. It is very important to define this relationship, to clinically detect and address these conditions, for its future application in prevention of complications associated with DCA.