THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ALCOHOL AND THE ROLE OF NATURE AND NURTURE.

The spread of alcoholism at an epidemic rate is a cause of concern in the new millennium. As alcohol is a potential risk to both the health of an alcoholic and the society, an understanding of the factors that lead to the addiction, becomes very important. The addiction to alcohol had been considered to be primarily influenced by the nurturance factors for a very long time. The detection of the role of genetic factors and other physiological changes, in making a person addicted to alcohol, had been a breakthrough achievement. The research in this line has helped to ascertain that both nature and nurture play equally important roles in the pathophysiology of alcohol addiction. The origin of addiction is in the brain and is regulated by a complex interplay of neurotransmitters and genetic factors with the environmental factors. Many of the nurturance factors can be modulated by strong will. Knowledge about the genetic factors and physiological changes will help to design suitable therapeutic options for an alcoholic.