Heavy alcohol use ‘affects male and female brains differently’

New research has suggested that long-term alcohol use has a different impact on the brain functions of young men and women.

The study from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital indicates that the risks posed by heavy alcohol consumption are likely to be different between men and women, with males at greater risk.

Brain scans were taken from 11 young men and 16 young women with a heavy ten-year alcohol use, and compared them with a similar-sized group who drank relatively little. It was found that drinking produced more changes in male brain electrical activity than in females.

Effects were seen on electrical and chemical neurotransmission, including a key neurotransmitter involved in many neurological systems that is known to be involved in anxiety and depression. 

Researcher Dr Outi Kaarre of the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital said: "What this work means is that long-term alcohol use affects young men and women very differently, and we need to find out how these differences manifest themselves."

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