Table 2.

Glutamatergic hypothesis of alcoholic brain injury (Adapted from Tsai and Coyle, 1998).

Clinical presentations	Ethanol's glutamatergic effects
Euphoria and dependence	Increased mesoaccumbenal dopamine neurotransmission. Upregulation of glutamate receptors.
Blackout	Impaired long-term potentiation. Acute attenuation of NMDA receptor neurotransmission on context of chronic up-regulation of NMDA receptor.
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, cerebellar degeneration and cerebral atrophy	NMDA receptor supersensitvity leading to excitotoxicity. Decreased magnesium, zinc, thamine. Increased nitrous oxide production, hypercortisolemia.
Fetal alcohol syndrome	Block of NMDA receptor's trophic effects.
	Decreased glutamate receptors density postnatally.