Integrative neurobiology of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome--from anxiety to seizures

This article represents the proceedings of a symposium presented at the 2003 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, organized and chaired by Carl L. Faingold. The presentations were (1) Overview, by Carl L. Faingold; (2) Stress, Multiple Alcohol Withdrawals, and Anxiety, by Darin Knapp; (3) Relationship Between Genetic Differences in Alcohol Drinking and Alcohol Withdrawal, by Julia Chester; (4) Neuronal Mechanisms in the Network for Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures: Modulation by Excitatory Amino Acid Receptors, by Carl L. Faingold; and (5) Treatment of Acute Alcohol Withdrawal and Long-Lasting Alterations in Hippocampal Neuronal Networks, by Larry P. Gonzalez. The presentations emphasized the importance of using intact behaving animals to advance the understanding of the human alcohol withdrawal syndrome. This involves applying and amplifying the neurophysiological and neurotransmitter findings observed in vitro to the network-based neurobiological mechanisms that are involved in several important aspects of the specific behaviors observed clinically. The symposium provided evidence that the organizational aspects of neuronal networks in the intact nervous system add another nexus for the action of alcohol and drugs to treat alcohol withdrawal that may not be readily studied in isolated neural elements used in in vitro approaches.