After participating in this module, it is expected that students will be able to:

• Describe the features of a compound that would enhance its ability to enter the brain
• Explain the role of filtration and passive diffusion in the of transport alcohol in the body
• Compare and contrast the structure and function of brain and non-brain capillaries
• Identify the types of chemical bonds that mediate interactions between neurotransmitters and their receptor proteins
• Recognize the primary subdivisions of the brain
• Discuss the compartmentalization of functions in the brain
• Discuss the difference between a “monomorphic and polymorphic gene”

After participating in this module, it is expected that students may be able to:

• Describe the development of intoxication symptoms relative to the blood alcohol concentration
• Describe how alcohol reduces neuronal firing to cause incoordination, sedation, etc.
• Explain the molecular and cellular basis for development of tolerance to alcohol
• Predict how polymorphisms in genes for alcohol metabolizing enzymes changes the way people become intoxicated with alcohol