The brain is one of the most metabolically expensive organs, consuming almost 20–25% of the body’s oxygen and glucose, while representing only 2% of the total body weight (Hasenstaub et al., 2010, Raichle and Gusnard, 2002, Belanger et al., 2011). Neuronal activity – action potential firing, input integration and synaptic transmission – accounts for up to 80% of the total energy usage in the brain (Watts et al., 2018, Hyder et al., 2013). Neurons primarily consume glucose as an energy source to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is utilized to balance metabolic the costs of electrical activity (Yi et al., 2016, Hasenstaub et al., 2010). The greatest fraction of metabolic demand supports the activity of ATP-dependent sodium-potassium pumps working to restore K+/Na+ gradients following action potential firing (Hallermann et al., 2012). Thus, there is a direct relationship between neuronal performance and metabolic status of the cells. Recent studies show that ethanol, in addition to being metabolized systemically, is metabolized preferentially as a carbon source to produce energy in neurons (Sun et al., 2023). Additionally, GIRK2, a subunit of the inwardly
