Alcohol exerts numerous pharmacological effects through its interaction with various neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Among the latter, endogenous opioids play a key role in the rewarding (addictive) properties of ethanol. Three types of opioid receptors (mu, delta, and kappa) represent the respective targets of the major opioid peptides (beta-endorphin, enkephalins, and dynorphins, respectively). The rewarding (reinforcing)…
