Last night on BB2 at 9pm the investigative TV programme Horizon aired a one hour show called 'Do I drink Too Much?'

Publicity blurb said they would be examining why so many people drink too much and the long-term effects on the body (EEK!!)

The little I caught of it was quite interesting - they injected a test subject with pure alcohol (to eliminate the variations of effects that occur due to metabolism and other factors) and scanned his brain to highlight the areas affected.

I must admit I was a little tipsy at the time, naturally , but I believe they then compared how the subject's brain was stimulated compared to people with a very strong disposition to alcoholism, and to people with low to none.

It's available to view on the iPlayer for people in the UK (for a week?) and I'll be watching the whole thing. Unfortunately I don't know how to record from iPlayer so that our international friends can also watch.

Thought this might be of interest to some

8

Hi 8,

I watched the whole of this excellent programme on 13 Oct and re-watched the whole thing again yesterday. Oh, the joys of Sky+. It was real cutting-edge stuff. Dr John Marsden, a guy who 'likes a drink' (in his own words) is a lecturer in addictive behaviour. He set himself up as the human guinea pig to be subjected to a series of experiments that looked in detail at the effects of alcohol on the brain and body. For a brief summary about John Marsden, please take a look at:

http://www.rigb.org/contentControl?acti ... 0000001322

One of the most interesting aspects of the programme (for me) concerned Prof David Nutt who has created an experimental drug that is, effectively, an alcohol substitute. It works on various neurotransmitters in the brain. The effects of the drug can be reversed by administering an intravenous injection. For more information about David Nutt and his work:

http://www.bris.ac.uk/neuroscience/rese ... details/80

V.

Thanks V - it's good to hear that the whole thing was as fascinating as the little I caught, and for those very interesting links. I must get back to watch it tonight.

Just watching again, and after a few minutes in I'm really shocked to see Dr Marsden (an 'addiction expert') start to address alcohol and his strong liking for it, for the first time in his life...

It's honest of him, but really - just another 'expert' in his field with his head in the clouds (until now?) I guess so at this point, it'll be interesting to see where this programme goes...

<edit> OK, am twenty minutes in - still absolutely flabbergasted that Dr Marsden is so many years in to a career as an 'addiction expert' (but not totally surprised, unfortunately) yet he is only now for the first time looking at alcohol as an addictive substance, despite his own strong preference for it.

The part with the rats is fascinating. So far the upshot seems to be that adolescent rats are clearly far less impaired than adult rats at performing tasks after an equal dose of pure ethanol, but the programme I think is suggesting that the long-term damage on the brain is/may be worse for those whose brain hasn't fully developed yet (Virgil or anyone else who has watched this please comment and/or correct me if I'm wrong).

I'll continue watching tomorrow. Fascinating so far.