Action of ethanol and salsolinol on opiate receptor function.

Ethanol may act at the enkephalinergic receptor level through condensation products such as salsolinol. This fact has been demonstrated by studying the 'in vitro' and 'in vivo' salsolinol interaction on enkephalinergic receptor sites labeled by [3H-Met] enkephalin. The modification induced by chronic ethanol and salsolinol on this neuronal system is a reduction of the affinity of the receptor for its ligand. These data suggest that a down regulation process due to the continuous opiate receptor stimulation occurs after ethanol administration.