We already discovered in its day that the widespread belief that alcohol destroys neurons is false – abstainers and alcoholics actually have the same number – and, however, it is very true that its intake affects the neuronal connections of the cerebellum and, therefore, to the quality of said neurons .
Thanks to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas (USA) and recently published in the journal Biological Psychiatry , we now know that certain neurons in our brain can influence alcohol consumption
In the different studies of these scientists, carried out with mice and led by Dr. Jun Wang, it has been determined that the ingestion of alcohol in large quantities alters the physical structure and function of the middle spinous neurons in the dorsomedial striatum – which, among other things, is related to decision-making. To be specific, the activation of certain neurons, called D1, further promotes alcohol consumption, while the so-called D2, its antagonists, do just the opposite: that is, they advise us to stop drinking .
When these D2s are active, they invite you to stop drinking alcohol, so they play an important role in prevention. However, researchers have observed that these neurons tend to deactivate when drinking excessively : repeated cycles of excessive alcohol consumption, followed by a period of abstinence, modify the intensity of the neural connections, causing the signals of the D2 are less powerful. Until they finally deactivate and stop suggesting to a subject to stop drinking.
“Let’s think about the phenomenon of binge drinking (it consists of the rapid and intensive consumption of alcoholic beverages), which marks the behavior of so many young people,” emphasizes Dr. Jun Wang. “They are probably doing the same thing that we have seen that leads to inhibition of these good neurons, which contributes to higher alcohol consumption ”.
Despite the fact that there is still a long way to go until human tests can be done, the authors of the research believe it very likely that one day it will be possible to enhance the activation of D2 neurons, for example with drugs or electrical stimulation , to be able to treat alcoholism.
