Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Preparation and In Vivo Use of an Activity-based Probe for N-acylethanolamine Acid Amidase
Published on: November 23, 2016
Piecing together the puzzle of acetaldehyde as a neuroactive agent
Mercè Correa1, John D Salamone, Kristen N Segovia
1Department of Psychobiology, University Jaume I, 12071 Castelló, Spain. correa@psb.uji.es
Abstract:
Mainly known for its more famous parent compound, ethanol, acetaldehyde was first studied in the 1940s, but then research interest in this compound waned. However, in the last two decades, research on acetaldehyde has seen a revitalized and uninterrupted interest. Acetaldehyde, per se, and as a product of ethanol metabolism, is responsible for many pharmacological effects which are not clearly distinguishable from those of its parent compound, ethanol. Consequently, the most recent advances in acetaldehyde's psychopharmacology have been inspired by the experimental approach to test the hypothesis that some of the effects of ethanol are mediated by acetaldehyde and, in this regard, the characterization of metabolic pathways for ethanol and the localization within discrete brain regions of these effects have revitalized the interest on the role of acetaldehyde in ethanol's central effects. Here we present and discuss a wealth of experimental evidence that converges to suggest that acetaldehyde is an intrinsically active compound, is metabolically generated in the brain and, finally, mediates many of the psychopharmacological properties of ethanol.
More Related Videos
10:48Probing Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Function in Mouse Brain Slices via Laser Flash Photolysis of Photoactivatable Nicotine
Published on: January 25, 2019
07:16Methods for the Discovery of Novel Compounds Modulating a Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Type A Neurotransmission
Published on: August 16, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Cholinergic Neurons: Neurotransmission
Aldehydes and Ketones with Alcohols: Hemiacetal Formation
Alkylation of β-Ketoester Enolates: Acetoacetic Ester Synthesis
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Friedel–Crafts Acylation of Benzene
Adrenergic Agonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
Aromatic ring substitutions: Substituting the aromatic ring with –OH groups at positions 3 and 4 yields catecholamines (e.g., epinephrine), which have a high affinity for adrenoceptors. Hydrogen bonding between –OH groups and receptors enhances adrenergic activity.
Separation of the aromatic...
α-Hydroxy Ketones via Reductive Coupling of Esters: Acyloin Condensation Overview