Am I wrong to read this as alcohol being some kind of actual gateway drug? Not in the sense that it brings you in contact with other drugs, but more susceptible to addiction to them?<p>&gt; The fact that repeated alcohol exposure reduces production of this receptor means that over time, drinking disrupts the brain’s normal brakes on dopamine release. In rats, this is known to speed up the development of addiction to anything from cocaine, to sugar and food. All of this points to a somewhat worrying reality – in consuming alcohol, people make their brains increasingly sensitive to the experience of reward that comes with substances like alcohol, drugs and food, which gradually makes people more desperate to seek them out.