ABSTRACT
The original premise of ethanol-induced formation of pharmacologically active neuroamine-derived alkaloids (mediated by acetaldehyde, the proximal metabolite of ethanol) in mammalian species was simultaneously and independently advanced by our laboratory (Davis, 1971) and by Cohen (1971 a). A common feature of both theories is the Pictet-Spengler condensation (Whaley and Govindachari, 1951) of i3-arylethylamines with aldehydes to form Schiff base intermediates. These substances subsequently undergo cyc1isation, yielding the tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids that may be involved in some aspects of alcoholism.
