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Subscribe to RSSLeave it to science to take the mystery out of the “I just love you so much, man,” beer buzz. But their findings may lead to better treatment for alcoholics, according to a study in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Although researchers have known for decades that alcohol affects the brain, it remained unclear as to exactly how the hooch makes humans feel so darn happy. “We have three decades of animal data, but this study is the first direct evidence of how alcohol makes people feel good,” says lead author Jennifer Mitchell, PhD, clinical project director at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
The research team found that found that drinking alcohol releases a flood of endorphins, the so-called “feel good” brain chemicals, in two very specific brain areas: the nucleus accumbens, which is linked to addictive behaviors, and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making.
Using positron emission tomography, or PET imaging, the team looked at the immediate effects of alcohol in the brains of 13 heavy drinkers, defined in the study as having two or three drinks every day, and 12 matched “control” subjects, who were not heavy drinkers.
Before imbibing a special cocktail of alcohol used for research purposes, along with a little orange juice, the subjects were given injections of a radioactive drug that binds to the brain’s opioid receptors, a place where endorphins also bind. The researchers then mapped the receptor sites that “lit up” on the PET image.
The subjects were then each given one minute to drink the special cocktail, a second injection of the radioactive drug, and another PET scan.
By comparing areas of radioactivity in the first and second PET images, the researchers were able to map the exact brain locations where endorphins were released in response to drinking.
In all of the subjects, alcohol led to endorphin release, but there were some differences between the control group and the heavy drinkers.
Although all participants reported feeling a greater sense of pleasure when more endorphins were released in the nucleus accumbens, heavy drinkers reported feeling more intoxicated than the control group when a greater number of endorphins were released in the orbitofrontal cortex.
“Heavy drinkers got more of a reward, more of a high,” says Mitchell. “Their brains are changed in a way that makes drinking extremely pleasurable.”
The study also found that endorphins released after drinking bind to the Mu receptor, the target of narcotics like morphine and heroin.
That finding could lead to “reverse engineering,” the drug naltrexone, which makes drinking and drugs like heroin less pleasurable by preventing binding at non-specific opioid receptor sites. Compliance, however, is low, because of side effects.
“People say they don’t like how the drug makes them feel, but now that we know that alcohol releases endorphins, we believe that we can make a better naltrexone, and it could be something that people who need help would want to take,” says Mitchell.
Related:
- What makes someone an angry drunk?
- Blame it on the alcohol? Maybe not, study suggests
- Post-booze blackout, how people fill in the blanks
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Neat, now I need to get my nephew off the booze
Hi Sherbud,
Unfortunately, your nephew will have to get himself off the booze. I know someone who spent many years as a certified alcohol and drug counsellor (had lived through it himself as well.)
As many people suffering from addiction are aware, the willingness to surrender and get well has to come from within. I am not an addict myself, but I've lost a couple of people that were close to me from this disease and I would not wish upon any person the pain of going through that downward spiral to death. It is so heartbreaking to witness.
I wish your nephew is able to find his way to recovery. Take care.
Where do they get that drinking 2 or 3 drinks a day is "heavy drinking"? Two drinks per day is within the health recommendation for wine, beer, or whisky in the USA.
I agree with you, cornmeal. That article, or should I say classification, of a heavy drinker with 2 or 3 drinks a day is a big joke and not substantiated by anything!
Hate to see some jack ass making up things for their own purpose. As usual, all blah, blah.
Aaah, they are Progressives. 3-4 joints a day is good, 3-4 drinks a day is bad
@cornmeal,
The term "heavy drinking" is based on the body's ability to rid itself completely of the alcohol and byproducts of decomposition of alcohol. Light to moderate drinking is drinking that is little enough that each day's consumption is gone before the next day's occurs. Somewhere between 2 and 3 drinks a day, the body becomes unable to completely flush itself and there tends to be a cumulative effect, both psychologically and physically.
"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heavy drinking is:
More than one drink per day on average for women
More than two drinks per day on average for men."
The CDC recommendation is for light drinking which is defined as no more than one drink no more than three times during a week. There is actually a known health benefit at that level. Even moderate drinking starts to pose health risks.
This is only a rule of thumb. Alcohol consumption's effects are moderated by overall weight, over health, especially the health of the liver, lungs, and kidneys, and how the alcohol is consumed. For example, it is a much different situation for a man to drink 14 drinks a week, two a day, and to drink the same 14 drinks in one sitting. Binge drinking has higher mortality rates because of the increase in the risk of accidents, but constant drinking, even at much lower levels does not give the body time to recover from the toxic effects.
So what part of the brain does booze hits that turns someone into a sh!tty drunk?
OK, they spent Money redetermining what people have known for 7000 years.... the AL in beer makes you feel good.
This is the Democrats trying to keep college professor types employed because they vote Democrat.
Your tax dollars at work instead of developing jobs that add value.
VOTE GOP 2012 from local to National and stop this waste of money.
@rogerramjet,
Too bad you are so lacking in critical thinking skills. How exactly is it that 7000 years ago that people knew that "the nucleus accumbens, which is linked to addictive behaviors, and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making" are associated with drinking or that "endorphins released after drinking bind to the Mu receptor, the target of narcotics like morphine and heroin"?
So it is Democrats keeping other Democrats employed, eh? How exactly to you explain that research and development in this country is at the lowest point, as a percentage of GDP, that before WWI? Grant fundiong for research is literally drying up completely. Less than 2% of worthy grant applications are being funded by HIH today versus 17% in 1990.
This is your tax dollars at work. Understanding the processes involved in alcholoism is a truly important field of study since it is one of the most costly preventable diseases known. It is Luddite attitudes like yours that hold us back. You are of the type who refers to Iranians as "back in the stone ages" but would rather see this country join them.
@Chris-749391 Finally, an intelligent poster. I am not used to reading reasonable and informed posts such as yours here. THANK YOU for taking time and doing so. It has given me a glimmer of hope that there are some people out there that still are itelligent and have an ability to reason.
Addiction comes in many forms- drugs, sex, shopping, eating among others. One of the benefits of the years of research is demonstrating that these behaviors have a biological basis and not a moral failing. As time passes, fewer opinions will demonize those that suffer from the illness, take away some of the shame in suffering with the illness and move toward avenues of treatment/recovery. About 10% of our population suffers from this disease- the economic, personal and societal costs are enormous. But chances are small that addicts will exchange the "high" for a pill until he/she hits rock bottom- the reasons for that ought to be examined. While we wait for further research to help fight this illness.....self help groups {A.A.,etc} seem to provide the best road to recovery for those willing to find a way out of addiction.
Not everyone who gets hammered on beer is like that. Some drunk people can get downright violent.
Actually, that is an interesting point, Point. Why do some people get nasty when they have had a few while others get happier? Myself, I don't think I get mean or nasty, but I don't feel any happier when I drink. Maybe in some people the chemical process is actually different, the alcohol does not cause a release of endorphins....
Quiet please i am (hic) studying .