GABA and Alcohol: The Connection Untold

If you’ve ever consumed alcohol, you might have noticed that after a few sips you start to feel a little calmer. Your anxiety seemed to melt away, and you forgot about your money problems and stopped worrying about saying the wrong thing at tomorrow’s party. Soon, you even start to feel sleepy.

This phenomenon is caused by a neurotransmitter called GABA — for gamma-aminobutyric acid — the key culprit behind the calmness, relaxation, and sedation.

So, what does alcohol have to do with it? In this article, we’ll learn more about GABA and how it relates to anxiety and alcohol. Let’s dive in! 

GABA: The Brain's Peacekeeper

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is one of our brain’s main neurotransmitters — the essential chemical messengers that send signals between cells called neurons. Neurotransmitters live at the very tip of our nerves. When a nerve signal comes down the pipeline, it stimulates the nerves to release neurotransmitters.

From there, they find and bind to other receptors on other neurons. These receptors are specific to each neurotransmitter, which means only that particular neurotransmitter can activate it. After the neurotransmitter binds to its receptor, the process starts over for the next neuron. Sometimes these actions include signaling to the neuron to take action, inhibiting actions of the cell, or modulating how the cells communicate at the synapse. 

GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning it slows down the signals in our body, so everything moves a little more slowly. There are two types of GABA receptors — GABA-A and GABA-B receptors. GABA-A receptors mediate rapid inhibitory signals whereas GABA-B receptors result in slower and prolonged inhibition signaling. Called the GABAergic system, this is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter system in brain circuits.

Due to GABA’s inhibitory actions, most GABA neurons are interneurons, meaning they mediate the action of other neurons. This means that GABA’s inhibitory actions primarily stop or prevent actions of other neurotransmitters. Most of our GABA neurons are located in the brain's relay center and in its centers for memory, movement, and involuntary action. GABA helps to control our sleep, blood pressure, metabolism, appetite, and mood. 

As the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA plays an important role in mental health maintenance and disorders such as anxiety. Let’s dive into more information about anxiety and how GABA plays a role. 

What Is Anxiety, and How Does GABA Relate to Anxiety? 

Anxiety is when we feel fear, dread, or uneasiness. Most of us have felt it to one degree or another. It can be a normal reaction to life-threatening or uncomfortable situations. However, anxiety becomes a problem when we start to have intense, excessive, or persistent worry about everyday situations. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition with nearly 301 million people diagnosed worldwide. Anxiety disorders come in a variety of conditions but include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or phobias. 

GABA and Anxiety: What’s the Connection?

Although not all anxiety disorders are the same, they affect our brain in similar ways. There is an area in our brain called the amygdala that is responsible for fear and fear memory. GABAergic neurons are believed to regulate anxiety and fear. Increasing activity of GABA in the amygdala decreases the sensation of anxiety. Anxiety can also lead to physiological symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweating, faster breathing, lightheadedness, dizziness, or restlessness. The physical symptoms of anxiety come from GABAerigc signals from our amygdala to our brainstem, which controls our involuntary functions. Typically, those of us with anxiety have low GABA activity, making it harder for us to relax. 

Alcohol and Anxiety

Alcohol may temporarily relieve our anxiety, but in the long run, it will make our symptoms worse. When we first start to drink alcohol, we may start to relax and ignore or overcome our anxiety. Once those short-term positive side effects wear off, our anxiety can heighten. “Hangxiety” can be a rebound of anxiety as the alcohol wears off and our bodies recover. 

Chronic alcohol use such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) is comorbid with anxiety disorders — meaning, if we have AUD, we are more likely to have anxiety accompanying it. Science shows us that those with AUD or alcohol dependence are more likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder compared to peers who are not dependent on alcohol. Now that we know alcohol can increase anxiety both in the short and long term, let’s take a closer look at why. 

Alcohol and GABA

Which neurotransmitter does alcohol affect? That’s a trick question because there are three primary alcohol neurotransmitters — dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. We’re going to focus on the effects of GABA and the common symptoms associated with alcohol use.

To understand how alcohol changes GABA, we need to know if alcohol is an agonist or antagonist of GABA. Generally, a receptor agonist is a substance that mimics the effects or actions of the neurotransmitter when it binds to that specific receptor. An antagonist binds to receptors, blocks the action of the receptor, and prevents a biological response. Alcohol is a GABA indirect agonist, meaning it binds to sites on GABA-A receptors and enhances the effects of GABA.

As we learned above, alcohol GABA receptors (GABA-A) tend to suppress the central nervous system or actions in the brain. Putting it all together, as we drink alcohol, the alcohol binds to subunits of GABA-A receptors, increasing GABA activity and leading to GABA's inhibitory actions. So, what’s the fallout? The actions of alcohol and GABA receptors lead to these symptoms associated with drinking:
 

• Sedation. GABA and alcohol work together to sedate our central nervous system, leading to temporary relaxation. 
• Motor impairments. GABA plays a role in motor control and coordination. Therefore, when we increase the actions of GABA with alcohol, it will impair our motor function by slowing our reaction times and coordination. 
• Cognitive delays. Increasing our GABA can impair our cognitive ability and lead to risky behaviors, impulsivity, inattention, or problems focusing. 

The short-term increase in GABA induced by alcohol leads to the symptoms above. But long-term alcohol use changes GABA in different ways. Let’s look at GABA’s role in alcohol use disorder and withdrawal. 

GABA’s Role in Alcohol Addiction

As we continue to drink alcohol, our brains adjust to the constant increase in GABA. Our brain will start to downregulate GABA alcohol receptors or the GABA-A receptors. As the expression of GABA receptors changes, our sensitivity to GABA decreases, and it will take more alcohol to elicit the same behavioral changes. Because it will take more alcohol for us to have the same good feelings or lack of stress and anxiety, we increase our risk of developing alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorder.

GABA in Alcohol Withdrawal

Our brain changes to compensate for the increase in GABA activity from overuse of alcohol. When we suddenly stop drinking alcohol, the neurotransmitter imbalance can lead to serious symptoms. Our brain is  used to getting more GABA activity when we are drinking alcohol. The sudden stop dampens our GABA activity, leading to increased activity of other neurotransmitters specifically, glutamate. 

Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter, and GABA works to mediate and keep glutamate in balance. So when we stop alcohol, our glutamate activity goes into overdrive. This overactivity of glutamate can lead to dangerous alcohol withdrawal symptoms, such as seizures, delirium, fever, or hallucinations. 

Treatment for GABA and Alcohol Struggles

Finally, here are some tips for those struggling with alcohol-related GABA changes in the brain.

1. Watch your intake. First and foremost, it’s crucial to reassess your drinking habits. Cutting back or even stopping entirely will let your brain rebalance. This might take some time, but be patient — it’s worth it!
2. Nourish your body. Eating a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals supports brain health and helps regulate neurotransmitter function. Foods rich in antioxidants, such as fruits and vegetables, and hydration also aid in recovery.
3. Get moving! Regular exercise can help increase the production of natural neurotransmitters, including GABA, and improve mood and stress levels.
4. Manage stress. Mindfulness meditation, yoga, or tai chi can enhance the body’s GABA levels naturally and help manage stress and anxiety related to alcohol withdrawal. They are also sustainable, booze-free ways to deal with stress in the future.
5. Talk to a medical professional. For advice that’s targeted to your situation, always talk to your doctor. They know you best and can run specific tests to see what related issues might be at play.
6. Consider supplements. There are supplements that can increase levels of GABA in the brain. But remember, always check with your doctor first!

With these tips, you can give your body some much-needed relief from booze while optimizing your brain chemistry. Your brain and body will thank you!

Key Takeaways

• Low levels of GABA are associated with anxiety disorders. 
• Alcohol may temporarily relieve anxiety because of the increase in GABA activity, but ultimately, alcohol makes our anxiety worse.
• GABA-A receptors change as we drink more alcohol consistently or become dependent on it. 
• Suddenly stopping alcohol can lead to an increase in glutamate, which can wreak havoc on our brain.