Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Evidence suggests that alcohol initially potentiates GABA effects; in other words, it increases inhibition, and often the brain becomes mildly sedated. But over time, chronic alcohol consumption reduces the number of GABA receptors through the process of down-regulation. When alcohol is eventually withdrawn, the loss of its inhibitory effects, combined with a deficiency of GABA receptors, may contribute to overexcitation throughout the brain. This effect, in turn, can contribute to withdrawal seizures (i.e., “rum fits”) within 1 or 2 days.
