Am J Psychiatry 1994; 151:1505-1508
Copyright © 1994 by American Psychiatric Association
Acute ethanol-induced changes in cerebral blood flow
J Tiihonen, J Kuikka, P Hakola, J Paanila, J Airaksinen, M Eronen and T Hallikainen
Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuopio, Finland.
Using high-resolution single photon emission computed tomography, the
authors studied changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in six healthy men
after the men rapidly consumed intoxicating amounts of ethanol. When the
subjects were given intravenous placebo before ethanol intake, regional CBF
was significantly increased over baseline in the right prefrontal cortex,
but no significant change in CBF was observed when the subjects received
intravenous naloxone before ethanol intake. The results indicate that
euphoria occurring during acute ethanol intake is associated with
activation of the right prefrontal cortex and mediated through the
endogenous opioid system.
