Loneliness rewires the brain to drive alcohol use, preclinical study finds
Loneliness can reprogram the brain in ways that increase alcohol consumption, according to a new preclinical study led by Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The scientists identified, for the first time, a brain mechanism through which isolation escalates alcohol use in male mice but suppresses it in females.
A new preclinical study, conducted by researchers from Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has revealed that loneliness can rewire the brain in a way that increases alcohol consumption. The study, which was published in Nature Neuroscience, identified a specific brain circuit pathway that becomes overactive during social isolation, directly increasing alcohol consumption in male mice.
However, the study found that this effect is reversed in female mice, with isolation actually suppressing alcohol use in them. The findings provide a clearer biological target for understanding and potentially treating alcohol misuse that arises from isolation, a growing public health concern.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
