Comments on: Alcohol Enhances, Not Drowns, Sorrow

By: tripleX

tripleX — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:03:13 +0000

‘Keep rats in fear for two weeks’. I understand the need for research, but it still sounds very cruel to me.

By: MoonCake

MoonCake — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:24:12 +0000

yea… alcohol is a downer, man!

seriously though, why DO we keep getting research conducted on things we already know the answer to? “through extensive research and countless waking hours, scientists have finally concluded that clouds are the result of evaporated water!” THANKS, SHERLOCK! “next week we explore the mystery of socks: they may be made of cotton, and why are there TWO of them?”

By: emptyminded

emptyminded — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 08:19:04 +0000

Wait. I’m still trying to figure out how this study applies to humans:

1. I get an electric shock when I go into a bar.
2. I get conditioned to experience a fear response when I go into a bar (because I’m certainly not going to stop going into the bar, seriously.)
3. When I experience the fear response, someone runs up behind me and injects me with ethanol (which, by the way, would really, really, really, really, really hurt like a sumanabitch) or saline.
4. When I get injected with the ethanol, I curl up on the floor for a longer period of time.

I don’t know. I think the Mythbusters ought to take a crack at it. (Having typed that last sentence I am forced to consider if Professor Matsuki wasn’t on crack when he did this study.)

By: VonSkippy

VonSkippy — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:36:40 +0000

Sniff. That is just soooooo sad.

By: Sofar

Sofar — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:02:58 +0000

Why do we have to keep proving things we already know. What a waste of rats. Don’t pharmacologists have better things to do?

By: donna

donna — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:47:17 +0000

Alcohol increases GABA levels creating a temporary feeling of relaxation and enjoyment. But after that ends, you’ll just feel worse, when the GABA levels drop.

Since GABA levels are also related to fear and anxiety, not too surprising.

http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/fear.htm

By: bean

bean — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:16:19 +0000

Wait. Depressants make people sad?

By: priscilla

priscilla — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:54:06 +0000

Stupid scientists. Thats kind of obvious… We should schock the scientists and load THEM up with booze so they’ll never forget it. =)

By: Scotchdrnkr

Scotchdrnkr — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:33:14 +0000

They actually got Paid for this study. I could have told them this.
Alcohol effects the short term memory not long term.
You won’t forget something that happened BEFORE you started drinking. You may forget it for a while because you are occupied by something else but this can be achieved by doing anything. As long as your brain is concentrating on something else you’ll forget the problem.
You probably won’t remember what happens after you’ve had a few. Alcohol interferes with the electrical pulses that are being sent to the brain while drinking it wont effect the ones that have already been sent. Unless you drink enough to actually destroy that part of the brain. But that takes a lot of drinking.
But sometimes you just feel like you need a drink.