See Van Gogh's still-life of a glass of absinthe below. If only he knew.
Here's a press release from the University of California at Berkeley:
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/r...-22-2000a.html
Or, in case they take it off later:
Infamous "van Gogh" beverage contains potent toxin with
curious brain effects, UC Berkeley scientists discover
22 Mar 2000
By Kathleen Scalise, Public Affairs
BERKELEY -- Long suspected to have contributed to psychoses, fits and
hallucinations in such famous artists and writers as van Gogh, Poe and Baudelaire,
the liqueur absinthe they cherished contained a potent toxin that UC Berkeley
scientists now say causes neurons to seriously malfunction.
The researchers report their findings in this week's edition of the journal,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Based on what we've discovered, large consumption of old absinthe would have
greatly disrupted the nervous system," said scientist John Casida, a UC Berkeley
professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology. "Our findings could explain
many of the symptoms described in the literature."
Casida said it was not previously known how the neurotoxin alpha-thujone, found
not only in absinthe but also in many popular herbal medicines, acted on the body
to bring about poisoning or whether the mechanism could account for strange
behaviors noted in many 19th century absinthe drinkers. Vincent van Gogh, Edgar
Allen Poe and Charles Baudelaire were among them.
The UC Berkeley researchers discovered that alpha-thujone acts on the same
brain receptor responsible for a form of epilepsy. The receptor controls the
chloride channel that regulates excitation and keeps neurons under control.
"Basically, alpha-thujone blocks the channel and allows the neurons to fire too
easily," said UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Karin H
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