beverage alcohol (i.e., ethanol) has been shown to inhibit glutamate transport (Zou and Crews 2006). This blockade of glutamate transporters increases glutamate levels outside the cells and particularly in the space between two neurons where nerve signals are transmitted (i.e., the synapse), resulting in excessive neuronal activity (i.e., hyperexcitability). TNFα also stimulates the production of certain proteins found on signal-receiving neurons that interact with glutamate (i.e., the AMPA glutamate receptors) (Beattie et al. 2010). Increases in synaptic glutamate receptors and glutamate concentrations cause hyperexcitability that disrupts the normal concentration of the brain’s response to a specific area of the cortex (i.e., cortical focus), thereby reducing cortical function. Through these mechanisms, monocytes, microglia, and astrocytes progressively become activated by stress and environmental factors, including ethanol, resulting in the induction of genes that encode proteins involved in the innate immune response.
