Alcohol addiction, also called alcohol use disorder, is a serious and common mental health issue around the world. It can have a major impact on health, families, and communities.
According to a 2018 report from the World Health Organization, alcohol use is linked to over 3 million deaths every year. It also causes around 5% of the total health burden worldwide, meaning it plays a major role in many illnesses and early deaths.
Researchers from the University of Warwick have found new clues about what happens in the brain that leads to alcohol addiction. The study was led by Professor Jianfeng Feng and published in the journal Science Advances. The research shows that alcohol addiction is linked to how a certain brain network responds to fear and danger.
This brain network includes two main parts. One is the medial orbitofrontal cortex, or mOFC, located in the front part of the brain. This area helps the brain notice things that are unpleasant or might be dangerous.
The second part is the dorsal periaqueductal gray, or dPAG, a deeper area of the brain that decides whether we need to escape a bad situation. Together, these two brain regions help us respond to stress or threats.
To study this brain network, the researchers looked at brain scans from a large group of people who took part in the IMAGEN study, which includes 2,000 teenagers and young adults from the UK, Germany, France, and Ireland.
Participants had their brains scanned while doing tasks in a lab. During these tasks, they sometimes didn’t get rewards they expected, which made them feel disappointed or upset.
The researchers noticed something important. People who had problems with alcohol showed weaker connections between the mOFC and the dPAG when they were feeling negative emotions. In other words, their brains weren’t handling disappointment or stress in the usual way.
The team found that alcohol addiction is more likely when this brain network doesn’t work properly. This can happen in two main ways.
First, alcohol can shut down or reduce activity in the dPAG. When this happens, the brain can no longer respond to stress or negative situations correctly. As a result, the person feels mostly the good effects of drinking alcohol, like relaxation or pleasure, but not the bad effects. This makes them more likely to drink again and again, even if it’s harmful.
Second, some people may have a dPAG that is too active. This makes them feel constantly uneasy, like they are always in a state of emotional discomfort or danger. They may then use alcohol to try to calm these feelings quickly. This kind of drinking is often done on impulse and can lead to addiction over time.
These findings are important because they give scientists a better idea of how alcohol addiction works in the brain. If doctors and researchers know which brain areas are involved, they can start to design treatments that target these specific parts.
For example, new medicines or therapies might help balance how the mOFC and dPAG communicate. This could reduce the urge to drink and make it easier for people to recover from addiction.
In the end, this research shows that alcohol addiction is not just about willpower or personal choice. It is connected to how the brain deals with negative feelings and danger. By learning more about these brain patterns, scientists hope to find better ways to treat and prevent alcohol use disorder, helping people live healthier and more stable lives.
If you care about alcoholism, please read studies that your age may decide whether alcohol is good or bad for you, and people over 40 need to prevent dangerous alcohol/drug interactions.
For more information about alcohol, please see recent studies about moderate alcohol drinking linked to high blood pressure, and results showing this drug combo shows promise for treating alcoholism.
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