The Drunken Monkey

April 15, 2014
Dudley (integrative biology, Univ. of California-Berkeley; research associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst.; "The Biomechanics of Insect Flight") proposes the "drunken monkey" hypothesis as the evolutionary basis for alcoholism. The author contends that alcohol naturally produced in fermented fruit acts as a long-distance signal to an available food source, rewarding hunter-gatherers who followed the signal with the benefits of low-level alcohol consumption as well as caloric gain. Dudley argues that there is now a biological mismatch as the prevalence of alcohol means that the once-beneficial predisposition to consume it can lead to excess intake. He summarizes research on the manner in which fruit flies and mammals partake of natural alcohol sources and explains the genetic differences between fruit flies and humans that can drastically affect the metabolism of alcohol. Though Dudley's work does not directly impact the treatment of alcoholism, he suggests avenues for future research that could improve our understanding of the biological causes of the condition and possibly lead to more effective solutions. VERDICT This persuasive and engaging book will interest students and scholars of biology and evolutionary medicine; it offers a new viewpoint when compared with Mark E. Rose and Cheryle J. Cherpitel's "Alcohol: Its History, Pharmacology, and Treatment".--Laurie Neuerburg, Victoria Coll.-Univ. of Houston Lib.

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