Examination of EtOH effects on the brain serotonergic system has yielded interesting findings. In addition to potentiating 5-HT3 receptor function, as mentioned in the previous section on ligand-gated ion channels, inhibition of 5-HT1c by EtOH has also been reported (Sanna et al. 1994) although it is not clear whether this inhibition results from a direct effect on the receptor or on downstream signaling mechanisms. Exposure to acute EtOH also increases extracellular 5-HT levels in brain (LeMarquand et al. 1994; Thielen et al. 2001), and a recent report indicates that reduced 5-HT uptake may contribute to this effect as well as to the acute intoxicating effects of EtOH (Daws et al. 2006). However, EtOH effects on serotonin and other monoamines require further examination.
