The BK channel is one of the best-described targets of alcohol. Typically, the BK channel is potentiated by alcohol (Butler et al., 1993;Chu et al., 1998;Crowley et al., 2003;Dopico et al., 1998;Dopico et al., 1999;Jakab et al., 1997;Knott et al., 2002), although in some tissues, it is inhibited (Dopico, 2003;Walters et al., 2000). In C.elegans, deletion of neuronal BK blocks the action of alcohol, while constitutive activation mimics the presence of the drug (Davies et al., 2003). In D. melanogaster, deletion of BK results in a loss of behavioral rapid alcohol tolerance (Cowmeadow et al., 2005).
