There are multiple neurotransmitter systems underlying the subjective effects of alcohol. Given the complexity of the neurobiological and behavioral effects of alcohol we have recently argued for the importance of considering the subjective effects of alcohol a moving target subserved by multiple neurotransmitter systems (Ray et al., in press). For example, the opiodergic system is thought to mediate some of the rewarding pharmacological effects of alcohol, such as feelings of euphoria and analgesia (Bond et al., 1998; Herz, 1997; Kreek, 1996), and these effects, in turn, are thought to be most prominent during the ascending limb of the BAC.
