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"... Although there are several drugs available to those seeking to stop or lower their alcohol consumption, their effectiveness is limited, and they often have significant side effects.
Over the past three decades, efforts to treat excessive drinking have focused primarily on developing drugs that target proteins that can control how neurons respond to stimuli. Because these proteins are present in almost every neuron throughout the brain, the drugs also affect neurons that aren’t directly responsible for regulating alcohol’s effects. This often leads to unwanted side effects like headache, fatigue, drowsiness or insomnia. ...
pinpointing the specific brain circuits that play a role in suppressing alcohol consumption is critical to developing targeted treatments with limited side effects. ... newly published research ... identified a small cluster of neurons responsible for suppressing binge drinking. ...
We identified a discrete number of neurons that respond to binge drinking in a brain region called the medial orbitofrontal cortex. This area is known for its key role in controlling decision-making and adapting behavior to a changing environment.
We also found that turning this neuronal ensemble off resulted in a sharp increase of alcohol consumption in mice. This means that the brain has, in essence, a built-in regulation system that is activated during alcohol drinking to act as a brake on its consumption. Should these neurons misfire, the regulatory system would fail, possibly leading to uncontrolled drinking. ..."
From the abstract:
"Alcohol consumption remains a significant global health challenge, directly and indirectly causing millions of deaths annually. Alcohol abuse causes dysregulated activity of the prefrontal cortex, yet effects on specific prefrontal circuits remain to be elucidated.
Here, we identify a discrete GABAergic neuronal ensemble in the mouse medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) that is selectively recruited in response to binge alcohol drinking and limits further drinking behavior.
Optogenetic silencing of this population, or its ablation, results in uncontrolled binge alcohol consumption. This neuronal ensemble is specific to alcohol and is not recruited by other rewarding substances.
Neurons in this ensemble project widely throughout the brain, but projections specifically to the mediodorsal thalamus regulate binge alcohol drinking. Together, these results identify a brain circuit in the mOFC that serves to protect against binge drinking by reducing alcohol intake, which may offer avenues for the development of mOFC neuronal ensemble-targeted interventions."
abuse – new research (no public access)
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