Alcohol addiction, also called alcohol use disorder, is a serious problem that affects millions of people around the world. It is one of the most common mental health issues.
According to the World Health Organization, over 3 million deaths each year are linked to alcohol use. Harmful drinking is also responsible for about 5.1% of all health problems across the globe.
Researchers from the University of Warwick have found that alcohol addiction is connected to how the brain responds to danger and unpleasant situations. This discovery, led by Professor Jianfeng Feng, was published in the scientific journal Science Advances.
The study focused on a part of the brain called the medial orbitofrontal cortex, or mOFC. This area helps us notice when something feels wrong or dangerous.
It then sends signals to another part of the brain called the dorsal periaqueductal gray, or dPAG. The dPAG decides if we should escape the situation or react in some other way. This brain network is important for how we deal with stress and bad experiences.
The researchers studied brain scans from a project called the IMAGEN dataset. This project included 2,000 young people from the UK, Germany, France, and Ireland. The participants had their brains scanned while doing tasks that involved rewards.
If they didn’t get a reward, it caused a negative feeling. Scientists looked at how the mOFC and dPAG worked together in these moments.
They found that in people who showed signs of alcohol abuse, the connection between the mOFC and dPAG didn’t work well. When these two brain parts don’t communicate properly, it increases the risk of alcohol addiction. There are two ways this can happen.
The first is that alcohol can slow down the dPAG. When this part of the brain is less active, a person may not react to danger or bad feelings in a normal way. Instead, they may only feel the “good” effects of alcohol, such as feeling relaxed or happy. This can make them want to drink more, even if it’s harming their health.
The second way is when the dPAG becomes overactive. Some people with alcohol addiction feel constant stress or discomfort. Their brains make them feel like they are always in danger or upset. To escape this feeling, they might drink alcohol quickly and without thinking. This is called impulsive drinking.
This research helps us understand how alcohol addiction forms in the brain. Knowing which brain areas are involved can help doctors and scientists create better treatments. In the future, we might be able to treat addiction by fixing how these brain pathways work.
In short, alcohol addiction is closely linked to how our brain reacts to negative experiences. The new findings from the University of Warwick give us hope for finding new ways to prevent and treat this life-altering condition.
If you care about wellness, please read studies about how alcohol affects liver health and disease progression, and even one drink a day could still harm blood pressure health.
For more health information, please see 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.
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