Alcohol addiction, abstinence restructures brain causing changes in functioning

As people are already aware of the harmful effects of alcohol addiction, and the habit leading to many health problems, a new study has linked excessive alcohol consumption to the brain and its functions. The findings, published in the online journal PNAS, identified several regions in the brain, which were previously unrecognised, as new research targets for better understanding and treatment of alcohol dependence in humans. “The neuroscience of addiction has made tremendous progress, but the focus has always been on a limited number of brain circuits and neurotransmitters, primarily dopaminergic neurons, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex,” said senior author Olivier George, associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Reduced modularity, said George, likely interferes with “normal neuronal activity and information processing and contributes to cognitive impairment, emotional distress and intense craving observed in mice during abstinence from alcohol.” However, the researcher said it was not clear if the reduced modularity was permanent.”So far, we only know that it lasts at least one week into abstinence.