Question

Imagine that you have ingested a drug that prevents alcohol from binding to GABAA receptors just before you join friends at a bar. Which of the following would you expect to happen to you?

1) You show no signs of sedation even after 9 beers.
2) One beer puts you to sleep.
3) The pill makes alcohol taste bitter causing you to vomit after one sip.
4) You find alcohol more intoxicating.
5) You would experience intense euphoria with the first beer.

Answer 1

Taking a drug that blocks alcohol from binding to GABAA receptors would likely result in no signs of sedation after consuming alcohol, as the drug would inhibit the depressant effects normally mediated by GABA facilitation.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you had ingested a drug that prevents alcohol from binding to GABAA receptors before drinking, the most likely outcome would be that you show no signs of sedation even after 9 beers.

This is because alcohol exerts its sedative effects primarily through the facilitation of GABAA receptor activity. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and its enhancement by alcohol leads to sedative and anxiolytic effects.

By blocking alcohol's interaction with GABAA receptors, the drug would likely neutralize the sedative aspects of alcohol consumption, but not necessarily the other pharmacological effects alcohol may have.

It would not make alcohol taste bitter, induce intense euphoria with the first beer, or find alcohol more intoxicating. Instead, with the inhibitory effects of alcohol on the GABAergic system blocked, your nervous system would remain relatively unaffected by the depressant effects of alcohol, thus leading to the absence of sedation.