I actually got that wrong about the mechanism of alcohol, it's even more indirect. What happens is that ethanol participates in the synthesis of testosterone, in small amounts it accelerates the production of new testosterone. Unfortunately this also depletes productive capacity in the long term but I will leave that aside for the moment. The increase of testosterone then stimulates the release of dopamine. Interestingly, ethanol also interacts with cocaine by forming a more potent form of cocaine, called ethyl-cocaine. This is why it is very common for cocaine to be combined with alcohol.
I actually got that wrong about the mechanism of alcohol, it's even more indirect. What happens is that ethanol participates in the synthesis of testosterone, in small amounts it accelerates the production of new testosterone. Unfortunately this also depletes productive capacity in the long term but I will leave that aside for the moment. The increase of testosterone then stimulates the release of dopamine. Interestingly, ethanol also interacts with cocaine by forming a more potent form of cocaine, called ethyl-cocaine. This is why it is very common for cocaine to be combined with alcohol.