Determine the influence of alcoholism on neurons
In collaboration with the University of Nottigham, researchers from the UPV Neuropsychopharmacology group have determined the damage caused by alcohol to neurons at the molecular level. An analysis of the brains of 20 alcoholic persons, specifically the prefrontal cerebral cortex, was performed. It is believed that this field controls executive functions, such as strategy planning and design, working memory, selective care or behavior control, so research on neurons in this area can help to better understand the behavior of alcohol-dependent people.
UPV-EHU researchers have detected two levels of brain damage analyzed. On the one hand, it has been proven through the microscope that the neurons of the prefrontal cortex were damaged, that is, that the cytoplasm (the inner medium of the cell) was not properly organized around the neuronal core. On the other hand, using proteomics techniques, it has been found that the amounts of proteins essential to the cellular structure, the cytoskeleton, were smaller, specifically, the following three: <unk> - and < -tubulin and < -ii-spectrine. These proteins have functions related to the structure, appearance, mobility and stability of cells and participate in infinity of processes (even in synapses of the spectrin < -ii-also). Well, according to the results published by the researchers in the journal PLoS ONE, the reduction of these proteins in the brain of people who have been alcoholic ranged from 36% to 83% compared to the healthiest ones: 56% for <unk> -tubulin, 83% for < -tubulin and 36% for spectrin < -ii.
According to the researchers, this type of restriction in the cytoskeletal architecture of neurons provides a basis for establishing a relationship between the structural alterations they have seen in the prefrontal cortezas of alcoholics and the cognitive alterations suffered by alcoholics.
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