[Effect of small doses of alcohol on emotional stress in patients with late sequelae of cranio-cerebral injuries].

An experimental study of individuals with late sequelae of closed cerebrocranial trauma, demonstrated that diverse signs of CNS activity to a different extent may be under the influence of small doses of alcohol. For instance, the sensorial process does not change significantly, which may indicate a relative independence of specific sensorial pathways (including the cortical area) from small doses of alcohol. Changes in cortical electro-activity and the threshold of the orientation reflex, the mechanisms of which are connected with the function of the brain stem reticular formation, points to an inhibitory action of alcohol on it. Against the background of alcoholic influence the socially significant emotionally negative stimula intensify emotional stress, the action of which is related to the activity of the limbic system structures and a weakening of the function of associative cortical fields. The results of this study permit to assume that different functional-structural mechanisms may lie at the basis of an emotional background (mood) and emotional stress.