It's more like a series of tiny pipelines with little adjustable openings, or channels composed of proteins. The channels expand or contract in response to the action of the switches. Opiate drugs such as morphine and codeine act on some of the switches in a way that causes them to inhibit the transmission of pain messages through the spinal cord. The opiates bind to receptors in the brain activating GIRK channels that, in turn, inhibit electrical transmission. A substance such as caffeine produces the opposite effect.
Caffeine interferes with GIRK channels in a way that causes people to become wide-awake.
But the exact consequences of alcohol activation of GIRK channels isn't known, and that is the next step. The question is how does alcohol produce the effects, such as removal of inhibition or judgment, lack of coordination. The long range goal is to develop medication that will interfere at the sites of alcohol action, and prevent the craving and excessive consumption of alcohol abusers. But not all potassium channels are sensitive to ethanol. In fact, the researchers tested 20 different potassium channels, most of which are resistant.