ALCOHOL’S legendary sedative effects may be caused by a brain steroid derived
from progesterone that damps down anxiety. This could help explain why alcohol
makes people feel so relaxed, and why men and women react to alcohol
differently.
It only takes a few drinking sessions for revellers to get acquainted with
alcohol’s effects. Scientists, though, have had a harder time figuring out
exactly how the drug works on the brain. Alcohol appears to interact with two
brain receptors, one of which, the GABA receptor, is exploited by tranquillisers
such as Valium. But it is not clear exactly how alcohol interacts…
