Drunken crawfish show that loneliness raises alcohol tolerance

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For crayfish at least, a more sociable life makes booze work quicker. When crayfish were put in water containing a little alcohol, the ones who had been kept on their own over the preceding week took longer to show signs of alcohol exposure – such as tail flips – than those who had been living with others of their kind.

...“This clearly shows a socially induced change in their reaction to alcohol,” says neuroscientist Jens Herberholz at the University of Maryland in College Park.

...So why is this response affected by being solitary or in company? It seems the social environment affects the receptors on nerve cells that respond to neurotransmitters like serotonin, which in turn changes how alcohol affects nerves.

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