A Better Understanding of Alcoholism

By Jane Farrell

A cure for alcoholism and other addiction could be closer to realization thanks to researchersΓÇÖ discovery of a neuron that determines whether one drink leads to two.

A study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, finds that alcohol consumption alters the structure and function of neurons in the dorsomedial striatum, a part of the brain known to be important in goal-driven behaviors. The findings could be an important step toward creation of a drug to combat alcoholism.

ΓÇ£Alcoholism is a very common disease,ΓÇ¥ said Jun Wang, M.D., Ph.D., the lead author on the paper and an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at the Texas A&M College of Medicine, ΓÇ£but the mechanism is not understood very well.ΓÇ¥

Using an animal model, the researchers determined that alcohol actually changes the physical structure of medium spiny neurons, the main type of cell in the striatum. ΓÇ£If these neurons are excited, you will want to drink alcohol,ΓÇ¥ Wang said. ΓÇ£YouΓÇÖll have a craving.ΓÇ¥

ΓÇ£My ultimate goal is to understand how the addicted brain works,ΓÇ¥ Wang said, ΓÇ£and once we do, one day, weΓÇÖll be able to suppress the craving for another round of drinks and ultimately, stop the cycle of alcoholism.ΓÇ¥