Ethanol is a very potent neurotoxin, which when inhaled or consumed, can pose as a very hazardous health risk. What happens is that the growth cones, or dendrites which grow off of the cell body, degenerate when they are exposed to this substance. To get a better understanding of how this happens, we must first take a look into what compiles a dendrite, and what happens, chemically as well as physically when the toxins are added or induced to the neuron. The dendrites or growth cones consist of neurofibrials, which are in the middle of the growth cone, and consist of tubulin. The tubulin molecules link end to end, to from microtubules tubulin as the cell grows, making the growth cones longer and stronger. Rapid degeneration will occur if ethanol is added to the cell. This is proven by our video. What occurs is that the ions of the ethanol will bind with the ions of the tubulin, or newly formed microtubules, which will cause them to repel from each other, causing the growth cone to collapse. The ethanol will attach itself to the binding site, which is reserved for GTP, which is the beta subunit of the tubulin molecule. GTP acts like ATP, and provides energy for tubulin to bind with one another, to form microtubules, but with the addition of ethanol, we find that microtubule growth is discouraged, and the bonds between each of the tubules are broken. These non-bonding tubules result in the disassembly of the microtubules and the eventual collapse of the growth cone, for the microtubules are the main structural support for it.
This results in the degeneration of the neuron; and furthermore destruction of the cell.