Explain what happens to alcohol once it enters the body. Include in your answer the affects of alcohol on the central nervous system and the gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system

What will be an ideal response?

The active ingredient in any alcoholic drink, ethyl alcohol, is quickly absorbed via the stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Then it is distributed throughout the body and quickly acts to depress the central nervous system. Although alcohol affects many neurotransmitter systems, its effect on receptors in the brain's gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) system are particularly noteworthy. GABA is the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. So, by increasing GABA firing, alcohol inhibits other brain activity.
This explains why alcohol is called a "depressant." Continued drinking leads to a slowing (depression) of the central nervous system, impairing motor coordination, decreasing reaction times, and leading to sad mood, impaired memory, poor judgment, and visual and auditory disturbances. Impairment ranges from mild feelings of being "tipsy" to more extreme levels of intoxication, or being drunk.