**8. Conclusion**

In conclusion, ethanol is a powerful drug that affects several neurological pathways such as the dopaminergic, serotoninergic, γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) and glutamate pathways and causes significant changes in the brain. It also affects the central nervous system and acts to depress brain functions, very much in the style of an anesthetic. Ethanol at low blood concentrations releases behaviors that are otherwise inhibited and usually produces feelings of relaxation and good mood which may facilitate socializing. Thus at low doses, ethanol is possibly useful but caution however needs to be exercised as even low quantities of alcohol affect the ability of the brain (hippocampus) to process information, which in turn impairs memory formation. Higher doses of alcohol affect the brain further by inducing intoxication wherein the person may experience temporary loss of coordination and judgment. Long-term alcohol abuse produces physiological changes in the brain and these changes in the brain chemistry maintain the alcoholic's compulsive inability to cease alcohol consumption being fully aware of the harm caused by alcohol and results in alcohol withdrawal syndrome upon discontinuation of alcohol.
