In terms of its manner of operation, alcohol interacts with a number of key neural systems including the glutamatergic, gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), serotonergic, cholinergic, opioid and dopaminergic systems (Eckardt et al., 1998). While the nature of these relationships is still not completely clear (e.g., Paus, Keshavan, & Giedd, 2008), it is important to note that alcohol operates at key receptor sites that are deeply in development during adolescence, including GABA (inhibitory) and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA; excitatory) receptor systems (Paus et al., 2008; Spear, 2014). Some suggest that it is precisely this process of development that gives adolescent alcohol use its characteristic behavioural pattern, with greater sensitivity to the rewarding features, and less experience of the negative aspects (Spear, 2014).
