and includes: Establishment of L-type Ca channels and BK channels in neurohypophysial terminals as targets of acute ethanol action, associated with the inhibition of peptide hormone release from these terminals.Discovery that gating is the attribute in both L-type Ca channels and BK channels that is targeted by ethanol. Gating refers to the transitions of the channel protein between the closed and the open state, and is a function of membrane voltage and intracellular calcium concentration. Other parameters, such as the ion selectivity and conductance of the channel, are resistant to alcohol.Demonstration of tolerance in the acute inhibition of release of AVP and OT from the neurohypophysis in rats placed on an ethanol-containing diet.
