This article presents the proceedings of a symposium presented at the meeting of the International Society for the Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA), held in Manheim, Germany, in September 2004. The organizers and chairpersons were Subhash C. Pandey and Toshikazu Saito. The presentations were (1) Ethanol and NMDA receptor coupling to ERK signaling, by L.J. Chandler;(2) Ethanol modulation of CREB: Role in neurogenesis, by Fulton Crews;(3) Serotonin dysfunction and alcohol preference in mice deficient in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), by Julie G. Hensler; (4) BDNF gene and related signaling: role in anxiety and alcohol dependence and preference, by Subhash C. Pandey; (5) BDNF and CREB: role in ethanol induced neuronal damage, Wataru Ukai
