I know people who insist that certain types of alcoholic drinks put them in specific moods when drunk 鈥� such as emotional, violent or confident. Is there any scientific reason why different beverages can have specific effects on mood?
鈥� Unfortunately, there is no straightforward evidence to support this claim, nor is there any evidence against it.
Whether you鈥檙e drinking wine, beer or spirits, the alcohol in your drink will be ethanol, which affects several neurotransmitters involved in determining mood. For example, alcohol inhibits glutamate receptors, which has the effect of relaxing muscles; it stimulates , reducing anxiety; and it increases the release of dopamine, a hormone associated with excitement.
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Mood and behaviour depend also on the degree of intoxication, which can be quantified by measuring the volume of alcohol in a given volume of blood, better known as the blood alcohol concentration. BAC depends not just on the amount of alcohol ingested but also on gender, weight and body fat.
When BAC is low (up to 0.06 per cent), the effects usually manifest themselves as euphoria, talkativeness and increased self-confidence. With BAC between 0.06 and 0.2 per cent, you will experience excitement and disinhibition, and then mood swings, particularly involving anger, boisterousness or sadness. The next stage, with BAC over 0.21 per cent, brings general inertia and a reduced response to stimuli. If you carry on drinking you will end up in a coma (BAC above 0.35 per cent) or even in the mortuary (above 0.50 per cent).
The context in which alcohol is consumed also plays a role. We tend to drink particular alcoholic beverages in particular situations: fine wine is usually savoured over a nice meal, for example, and hence is likely to put you in a mellow mood, while numerous shots of vodka may be consumed at a party on an empty stomach and will make you feel drunk much quicker.
Some people suggest that the mood you end up in when you drink depends on the mood you are in when you start, and that people tend to choose specific drinks for specific moods.
鈥淪ome people suggest the mood you end up in when you drink depends on the mood you started out in鈥�
Joanna Jastrzebska, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, UK