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Monday, April 16, 2007

The concentration-dependent effects of ethanol on Caenorhabditis elegans behaviour

The Pharmacogenomics Journal advance online publication 27 February 2007;





The effects of ethanol on the brain are concentration dependent. Low concentrations (mM) intoxicate, while greater than 100 mM anaesthetize.

Of most relevance to human alcohol addiction are mechanisms of intoxication. Previously, Caenorhabditis elegans has been employed in genetic screens to define effectors of intoxication.

Here, we inform interpretation of these studies by providing evidence that ethanol rapidly equilibriates across C. elegans cuticle.

Thus, modelling intoxication in C. elegans requires exposure to external ethanol less than 100 mM.

Furthermore, the permeability of the cuticle to ethanol enables analysis of precisely controlled concentration-dependent effects of acute, chronic, and episodic ethanol exposure on behaviour.

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REPRINT REQUEST E-MAIL: lmhd@soton.ac.uk
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