Alcohol makes men horny:
RESEARCHERS have confirmed what many of us already know - alcohol makes males more amorous and less sexually inhibited.
The research, led by Penn State University neuroscientist Dr Kyung-An Han and published in the journal PLoS ONE, looked at the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on fruit flies.
The fruit flies were given a daily dose of ethanol to closely mimic the drinking habits of alcoholics and chronic alcohol abusers.They found that male fruit flies, which typically court females, also actively courted males.
Dr Han and her students also used transgenic (genetically modified) flies whose levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine could be turned off by changing the temperature to 32 degrees Celsius.
"Without a temperature change, the transgenic males showed conspicuous intermale courtship under the influence of ethanol," Dr Han said.
"However, they exhibited negligible intermale courtship when we changed the temperature to block the transmission of dopamine neurons in the brain. This result suggests that dopamine is a key mediator of ethanol-induced intermale courtship."
The researchers also found that repeated exposure to ethanol causes male flies to engage in more intermale courtship, a phenomenon known as "behavioural sensitisation".
"If a behaviour like alcohol consumption becomes more pleasurable the more often you do it, you are more likely to keep doing it," Dr Han explained.
Middle-aged and old male flies were also found to have a higher propensity for uninhibited inter-male courtship compared to fully mature male flies.
"As flies get older, their cognitive capacities decline, making them more susceptible to the negative effect of ethanol on cognition," Dr Han said.
She said the research into the physiological effects of alcohol was important for further research into the physiological effects of alcohol addiction.
"We are now just beginning to discover the ... mechanisms underlying neural changes in the brain that result from the chronic use of alcohol," Dr Han said..
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What Is Alcohol?
Alcohol is a depressant drug. It slows the brain's activities and the activity of the spinal cord. Alcohol isn't always used in a bad way though. People have been known to use alcoholic beverages throughout history. It is used with meals, at social gatherings, in religious ceremonies, to celebrate, for medical purposes, and on ceremonial occasions.
Alcohol comes in different varieties. Beer and ale (4-7% alcohol), wine and champagne (9-14%), and hard liquor (40-50%) are the most common kinds of alcohol. Alcohol affects the brain so it has the potential to be abused.
Alcohol rapidly enters the bloodstream and circulates to various parts of the body in a few minutes. Therefore, to avoid intoxication, the average 150 pound person could consume one drink in one and a half hours with no accumulation of alcohol in the blood. Drinking faster than this would result in intoxication.
Driving is a big problem when alcohol is involved. Even small amounts of alcohol can reduce coordination, slow reflexes, and lead to overconfidence. Alcohol is a factor in half of all highway fatalities and one-third of all highway injuries. There are still many other consequences of drinking. Falls, sickness, fires, suicide, and lost productivity are other examples. Today in the U.S., there are one hundred million drinkers and ten million are chronic abusers of alcohol.
Why do people drink? People drink for positive and negative reasons. Some positive reasons are to compliment meals, at social outings, and to relax with friends and family. Most of the time this kind of drinking is NOT abused. Negative reasons for drinking are to escape from family problems, as a "cure" for fears, to block out painful feelings, and as a substitute for close relationships. Alcohol can leave a sense of guilt which may lead to more drinking. This kind of drinking is very often abused. People drink to take their problems away, but, drinking doesn't solve anything- it just makes matters worse. Alcohol can be harmless and enjoyable, if it is used responsibly.
Everyone who drinks or is thinking about drinking should know alcohol is a drug that is potentially addicting. Every drinker should ask himself if alcohol is doing more good than harm, or more harm than good. And if you choose not to drink, you have plenty of company.
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