Regarding glutamate dehydrogenase, which metabolizes glutamate; adolescent binge-like drinking by rats resulted in a 40% decrease in hippocampal glutamate dehydrogenase 1, which was not seen in rats that received the same protocol during adulthood.174 Given this finding, it is noteworthy that ethanol inhibits NMDA excitation and LTP to a greater extent in hippocampal slices from adolescent versus adult rats.175,176 Therefore, significant differences in ethanol’s effects on glutamatergic activity occur across periadolescence and adulthood (see later in the chapter).
