{
  "id": 3283688,
  "title": "Alcoholic lab mice are helping scientists unlock which part of the brain makes us want to drink",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/alcoholic-lab-mice-are-helping-scientists-unlock-which-part-of-the",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-25T13:28:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/08/25/brain-relapse-marker-alcohol-screening-lab-mice/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Compulsive drinking in mice can be preceded by changes in a specific brain region, called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), according to a recent study. Researchers studied mice that had voluntary access to alcohol followed by forced abstinence, and found that these mice developed an aversion-resistant alcohol intake, drinking even larger quantities of bitter alcohol. The BNST, located deep in the brain, showed increased activity in abstinent mice who had developed a taste for bitter alcohol, compared to those who did not experience forced abstinence. This increased activity was observed even before the mice were given access to the bitter alcohol, suggesting it may be possible to identify people at risk of relapsing by screening for BNST activity. Alcohol use disorder, which affects nearly 30 million people in the U.S., is a major public health challenge. Clinicians currently lack tools to predict those most at risk of relapse, but this study suggests that BNST activity could be a potential screening method. Further research is needed to understand the exact role of the BNST in alcohol use disorder and how to use this knowledge to develop new treatments.",
  "summary": "With nearly 30 million Americans living with alcohol use disorder, researchers say activity in a deep brain structure appears before cravings hit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}