The effect of acute ethanol administration on GABA receptor binding in cerebellum and hypothalamus.

The effect of the intraperitoneal administration of ethanol on [3H]GABA binding and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in cerebellum and hypothalamus was investigated. Acute ethanol administration produced an increase in the binding capacity of the high affinity GABA binding sites and a decrease in the binding capacity of low affinity sites. A decrease in the binding capacity of the high affinity GABA binding sites and an increase in the binding capacity of the low affinity sites were observed in the hypothalamus. No apparent changes were detected in the binding affinities for the two types of GABA receptor sites in both brain areas following ethanol treatment. Ethanol enhanced GAD activity in the cerebellum and reduced GAD activity in the hypothalamus. Changes in GABA binding may be involved in some of the neuropharmacological effects of ethanol.