I have actually had a much harder time finding this answer then I expected. So, how does it do its magic?
There’s always How Stuff Works. The site is filled with all sorts of useful and fun information.
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
It still does not answer anything! It just says what alcohol does, not how it does it. Just like every other book and website.
In that case I don’t understand the question. What exactly do you mean by “how it does it”?
That site goes into quite a bit of detail on the biochemical processes that cause drunkenness. FOr example:
What exactly are you looking for if not that kind of information?
Ahhh. I was under the impression that alcohol worked by binding to hemogloben causing it to become less eficient in oxeygen transfer, thus causing the effects of drunkenness.
Nah. Cyanide works that way. Alcohol is just a standard depressant.
By drinking it, of course.
I believe you’re thinking about carbon monoxide which binds to hemoglobin forming carboxyhemoglobin.
Cyanide is an electron transport chain decoupler. It works by causing cells to sort of rev their engines in neutral.
Alcohol does indeed work by binding to the GABA receptor (that’s [symbol]g[/symbol]-amniobutyric acid if you’re interested); other drugs affecting this receptor include benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, Xanax) and barbiturates.
Well there you go. I though CN had the same mode of action as CO.