Med. Weter. 82 (1), 49-54, 2026
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| JERZY BEDNARSKI, ALEKSANDRA BIELAK, IWONA ŁUSZCZEWSKA-SIERAKOWSKA, MARLENA KRAWCZYK-SUSZEK |
| Alcohol addiction and criminal behavior of culprits hospitalized pursuant to detention adjudged by the court as a protective measure in relation to an animal model. |
| Models of alcohol consumption and the effects of alcohol on the human body have been extensively studied using laboratory experiments on animals. These experiments demonstrated not only structural changes in the bodies of animals due to alcohol consumption but also behavioral disturbances. Pigs, due to their many anatomical, physiological, and behavioral similarities to humans, have become an ideal model. During the experiments, they exhibited voluntary alcohol consumption to the point of intoxication, and subsequently, despite negative symptoms of alcohol consumption (ataxia, consciousness disturbances, vomiting, etc.), they voluntarily continued to consume alcohol. Anatomical similarities in brain structure may provide probable patterns of injuries caused by alcohol consumption, just as in humans. The aim of the study was to characterize the alcohol consumption habits among patients isolated in Forensic Psychiatry Department in relation to an animal model. The study group consisted of 24 men isolated in Forensic Psychiatry Department Medical University in Lublin studied with the use of a background survey and a questionnaire concerning the model of alcohol intake which is an own method developed for this research. Knowing neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for the effects of alcohol consumption is crucial for conditioning in counteracting alcohol use disorder effectively. The studies of such processes in people are limited for ethical reasons, which are less restrictive regarding laboratory experimental animals. The main age of the patients was 44 years old. No one in the study group was highly educated. 22.8% have consumed alcohol for more than 40 years. Over 45% of patients got drunk for the first time between 10 and 20 years of life. Almost half of the patients consumed alcohol for improvement of the mood. Around 9% had experiences with noncommercial alcohol. Only 36% participated in fights after alcohol intake. Half of the study group had retrograde amnesia and 23% drove after alcohol consumption. Only 22% were hospitalized in drying-out hospital. Almost 10% had serious diseases caused by alcohol intake. 46.6% were drunk during the commission of crimes. The most common psychotic disorder among these patients was Schizophrenia. In studies of rats burdened with alcohol intake, as in intensive drinking at adolescence there was a stimulated increase in the number of mature and immature dendritic spines in pyramidal cells located in the V layer of the prefrontal cerebral cortex what was observed after adolescence, thus in adulthood of the rats. The main changes involved an increase in the number of unstable, lengthened, and thinned dendritic spines. Showing also a decline in the expression of catechol-O-methyltransferase. The results of the above mentioned research on rats and observations of studies in people are a coherent whole presenting evidence on the damaging influence of typical alcohol intake in adolescence, showing itself in adulthood as destructive changes within the structure and functions of dopaminergic neurons, and also their functionally interdependent gabaergic neurons of the prefrontal cortex. The study group does not correlate their current condition with alcohol abuse. There is a great need for education to decrease the level of addictions and crimes. |
| Keywords: alcohol abuse, crime, schizophrenia |