Neurons responsible for influencing alcoholism discovered

US scientists have been able to identify a number of neurons that influence a person's susceptibility to alcoholism.

Published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, the study revealed that alcohol consumption can alter the structure and function of neurons in the dorsomedial striatum.

This part of the brain is known to be important in goal-driven behaviours, and can be activated when drinking, leading the individual to want to consume more alcohol, thus creating a self-sustaining cycle.

When animal test subjects were given a drug to at least partially block the key receptors involved in this process, they showed much-reduced desire to drink alcohol. This suggests the discovery could be used as a springboard for the development of drug therapies to combat alcoholism.

Lead author Dr Jun Wang, an assistant professor in the department of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at the Texas A&M College of Medicine, said: "My ultimate goal is to understand how the addicted brain works and once we do, one day, we'll be able to suppress the craving for another round of drinks."