Final answer:
Tolerance is the condition where chronic drinking reduces a person's sensitivity to alcohol due to adaptations in the brain's reward circuitry, requiring higher doses for the same effect and potentially leading to serious health issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
The condition in which chronic drinking causes the body to become less sensitive to alcohol is known as tolerance. Chronic exposure to alcohol leads to compensatory adaptations in the brain's reward circuitry. This means that over time, a person will need a higher dose of alcohol to experience the same effect, whether it's a sense of euphoria or sedation. When alcohol consumption is stopped, various withdrawal effects such as tremors, seizures, insomnia, and confusion can occur. These effects are due to the hyperactive state the brain has adapted to in the presence of alcohol, which is no longer tempered by its inhibitory effects once alcohol use ceases.
This concept of tolerance is supported by what we know about the body's adaptation to chronic substances. In the case of alcohol, the GABAergic component of the reward system is affected resulting in reduced inhibition of the dopaminergic mesocorticolimbic pathway, which can contribute to addiction and disrupt self-control. Moreover, long-term effects on the excretory system can result, impairing the function of vital organs like the liver and kidneys, which can lead to serious health consequences.