Proof: The Science of Booze

by Adam Rogers

If you really want to blame a chemical for wine-induced headaches, I might point you to another choice—5-hydroxytryptamine, more generally known as serotonin. It’s a neurotransmitter used widely throughout the brain, involved in things like mood regulation. Psychiatric drugs like Prozac are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; they enhance the effects of serotonin in the brain. Red wine induces the release of serotonin more effectively than white wine. Like Prozac, red wine also inhibits its reuptake at synapses in the brain. It blocks serotonin from locking into receptors, specifically a subtype called 5-HT1. And maybe it’s no coincidence that the most widely prescribed and successful class of migraine drugs, the so-called triptans—sold under brand names like Imitrex—attach to that very receptor. And about a third of migraineurs do indeed say that red wine can induce their headaches.