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Article 1: Kruman, I. I., Henderson, G. I., & Bergseson, S. E. (2012). DNA damage and neurotoxicity of chronic alcohol abuse. Experimental Biology and Medicine, 237, 740-7.

Summary: The article reviews research investigating the possibility that accumulation of DNA damage as a function of chronic alcohol abuse contributes to damage to the brain that can result.

Questions to Consider: [Critical thinking questions based on the article to gauge student comprehension and analysis]

1. What is the importance of one-carbon metabolism with regard to DNA?
2. How do acute and chronic levels of alcohol abuse result in different patterns of DNA damage?
3. How might ethanol’s effects on DNA damage and repair account for gender differences in vulnerability to alcohol?
    

Article 2: Attwood, A. S., & Munafò, M. R. (2014). Effects of acute alcohol consumption and processing of emotion in faces: Implications for understanding alcohol-related aggression. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 28(8), 719-732.

Summary: This paper suggests that disruptions in the connections between the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala may contribute to increased aggressive tendencies often observed following binge drinking.

Questions to Consider:

1. How is alcohol consumption associated with aggression?
2. How does alcohol use affect processing of facial emotional information?
3. How are the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala involved in emotional processing?
    

Article 3: Talbot, P. A. (2011). Timing of efficacy of thiamine in Wernicke’s disease in alcoholics at risk. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 17, 46-50.

Summary: This study describes the optimum time frame for oral administration of thiamine to avoid the onset of Wernicke’s disease in individuals undergoing alcohol withdrawal.

Questions to Consider:

1. What are the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal?
2. What are the symptoms of Wernicke’s disease?
3. What is the research design being employed here?