Trachtenberg M C, Blum K
Matrix Technologies, Inc., Houston, Texas 77058.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 1987;13(3):365-72. doi: 10.3109/00952998709001520.
Until recently alcoholism was regarded as an incurable psychological problem. During the last decade a chain of research has led to important hypotheses about the etiology of the physical craving of alcohol. Recent discoveries indicate that the brain has receptor sites for naturally occurring opiatelike substances (endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphins) which are produced by the nervous system. Opiates such as morphine or heroin and some of the metabolic products of alcohol (tetrahydroisoquinolines) can also attach themselves to these receptors. It has been further discovered that the physiological craving for alcohol may be the result of a deficiency of the naturally occurring opiatelike substances as well as other neurochemical deficits (i.e., dopaminergic, GABAergic, and serotonergic). These neurochemical deficits can occur genetically or as a result of long-term heavy drinking.
直到最近，酗酒还被视为一种无法治愈的心理问题。在过去十年中，一系列研究得出了关于酒精生理成瘾病因的重要假设。最近的发现表明，大脑具有天然存在的类阿片物质（内啡肽、脑啡肽和强啡肽）的受体位点，这些物质由神经系统产生。吗啡或海洛因等阿片类药物以及酒精的一些代谢产物（四氢异喹啉）也能附着在这些受体上。人们还进一步发现，对酒精的生理渴望可能是天然存在的类阿片物质缺乏以及其他神经化学缺陷（即多巴胺能、γ-氨基丁酸能和5-羟色胺能）的结果。这些神经化学缺陷可能是遗传导致的，也可能是长期大量饮酒的结果。
