A particular neuron in the brain reaches out for the next drink – potentially functioning as a seat of alcoholism and other addictions, according to research by Texas A&M scientists.

Alcohol alters neurons in the dorsomedial striatum, a part of the brain singled out to be important in goal-driven behavior, according to the study, published in the Journal of The Neuroscience

Once the pathway is established with habit, a vicious cycle makes drinking more and more easy and necessary, they said.

[pullquote]According to the team, the neurons were actually altered by the alcohol, creating the vicious cycle in the mouse models.[/pullquote]

“Alcoholism is a very common disease, but the mechanism is not understood very well,” said Jun Wang, the lead author on the paper.

The neurons were actually altered by the alcohol, creating the vicious cycle in the mouse models, according to the team. The excitatory dopamine receptor in the mice was triggered more and more easily with less and less stimulation over time, they found.

These “D1 receptors” were known to become more accustomed to activation – and then promoted more alcohol consumption than ever before, they added.

When the D1 receptors were inhibited with drugs, the mice did not want alcohol as much, they found.

“If these neurons are excited, you will want to drink alcohol,” said Wang. “You’ll have a craving.

“My ultimate goal is to understand how the addicted brain works,” Wang added, “and once we do, one day, we’ll be able to suppress the craving for another round of drinks and ultimately stop the cycle of alcoholism.”

Drinking has long been known to increase the effects of inhibitor GABA in the brain, while inhibiting the excitatory glutamate neurotransmitter. But at the same time, it causes a release of pleasurable dopamine which the addict can come to crave.

According to Wang and the Texas A&M team, the exact chemical pathway for all these interactions still needs to be delineated.