Phosphatidylserine supplement has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat memory deficit disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, to support healthy cognitive function during aging, and to remediate cognitive deficits as a result of heavy drinking and cigarette smoking. Furthermore, sphingolipids have the highest concentration in the brain too (Inuzuka et al., 2005). They associate with cholesterol molecules into lipid rafts that play a functional role in neural plasticity, signaling and axonal guidance (Nguyen et al., 1994; Tsui-Pierchala et al., 2002; Guirland et al., 2004). Alcohol consumption can increase sphingosine levels in the rat brains (Dasgupta et al., 2007). Activity of sphingolipid metabolism enzyme, i.e., acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), was also increased in alcohol-dependent patients (Reichel et al., 2011). The function of Serinc2 altered by the alleles of functional SERINC2 variants may be implicated in the synthesis of phosphatidylserine and sphingolipids and might thus be relevant for the occurrence of alcohol dependence. Alternatively, Serinc2 might play a role in alcohol dependence by virtue of the glutaminergic pathway. This pathway is widely known to play important roles in alcohol intoxication and withdrawal (Krystal et al., 2003). Within the hippocampus, Serinc2 expression is increased following
