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Scientists hunt down the brain circuit responsible for alcohol cravings
Scientists at Scripps Research have found that they can reverse the desire to drink in alcohol-dependent rats—with the flip of a switch. The researchers were able to use lasers to temporarily inactivate a specific neuronal population, reversing alcohol-seeking behavior and even reducing the physical symptoms of withdrawal.
[...] Although the laser treatment is far from ready for human use, [associate professor Olivier] George believes identifying these neurons opens the door to developing drug therapies or even gene therapies for alcohol addiction.
[...] George and his colleagues have been hunting for the brain cells that driving drinking in an alcohol-addicted rat model. In 2016, they reported that they had found a possible source: a neuronal “ensemble,” or group of connected cells in a brain region called the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA).
[...] For the new study, they tested the role of a subset of neurons in the ensemble, called corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons. The George laboratory had found that these CRF neurons make up 80 percent of the ensemble.
[...] First, the scientists established a baseline for how much the rats would drink before they got addicted to alcohol. The rats drank little this point—the equivalent of a glass of wine or one beer for a human. The scientists then spent several months increasing consumption in these rats to establish alcohol dependence.
The researchers then withdrew the alcohol, prompting withdrawal symptoms in the rats. When they offered alcohol again, the rats drank more than ever. The CeA neuronal ensemble was active, telling the rats to drink more.
Then the scientists flipped on the lasers to inactivate the CRF neurons—and the results were dramatic. The rats immediately returned to their pre-dependent drinking levels. The intense motivation to drink had gone away. Inactivating these neurons also reduced the physical symptoms of withdrawal, such as abnormal gait and shaking.
[...] The effect was even reversible. Turn off the lasers, and the rats returned to their dependent behavior.
Inactivation of a CRF-dependent amygdalofugal pathway reverses addiction-like behaviors in alcohol-dependent rats, Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09183-0)
(Score: 3, Informative) by mendax on Saturday March 23 2019, @11:51PM
Muslims do indeed drink alcohol. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan, and Kemal Attaturk, the father of modern Turkey, were both alcoholics. I think it was Attaturk's liver that quit because his drinking. They were great men but not very good role models for what was a good Muslim.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.