thescientist | It seems that beer’s flavor, not just its alcohol content, prompts us to
keep drinking—and our risk of alcoholism may enhance this urge,
according to new research published today (April 15) in Neuropsychopharmacology.
Researchers found downing a swig of beer—too tiny to produce
intoxication—prompted release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the
reward center of men’s brains, especially in men with close relatives
who suffer from alcoholism. The research suggests that stronger dopamine
responses to alcohol cues may be one mechanism underlying increased
alcoholism risk.
“It’s a very nice finding that contributes to our understanding of how dopamine contributes to addictive urges,” said Kent Berridge,
a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan who was not involved in
the research. The brain chemistry of addiction and craving is still
being untangled, but it’s long been known that dopamine is
involved—though it’s not always clear how, said Berridge. In this case,
the research suggests that “dopamine is making taste a stronger
incentive, it makes [the beer taste] more tempting.”
Both animal and human studies have shown that drug-related cues,
independent of the intoxicating effect of the drug itself, stimulate
activity in the brain’s reward centers, explained David Kareken, a
neuroscientist at the Indiana Alcohol Research Center and Indiana
University School of Medicine, who led the research. However, no one had
looked at whether the taste of beer—a cue that can’t be
avoided—stimulates humans to release dopamine, a key neurotransmitter
used in the reward center.
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