News / Health & Wellness
The Alcohol-Opioid Connection
A new study shows why some people may find it so hard to stop drinking when others have no problem knowing when to say “when.”
It can be hard to understand why an individual struggling with substance abuse seems unable to quit despite devastating negative consequences and a true desire to change. Now, a new study may provide some clues into that contradiction, proving scientifically that it’s not a lack of willpower but instead a chemical reaction in the brain that makes it so hard for some to just say “no.”
This latest research, published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, can help us understand what makes alcohol so addictive to some people. Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to look at the distribution of chemicals in the brains of participants, which included 13 heavy social drinkers and 12 healthy control subjects. (A heavy social drinker is categorized as a woman who consumes 10 to 16 drinks per week or a man who indulges in 14 to 20 drinks per week, while the women in the control group drank fewer than five drinks per week and the men drank less than seven.)
Researchers found some people’s brains give them more of an opioid release when they drink, leading them to perceive alcohol as more pleasurable than other people do. In the heavy drinkers who were studied, a single drink led to the release of more opioids in the orbital frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens -- two regions that play a role in reward. That reward makes the individuals in that group subconsciously learn to want that rush of pleasure again -- making them seek and crave alcohol in a way they’re not even aware of.
This may also explain why alcoholics who truly desire to stop drinking have so much trouble doing so. Once part of the brain learns that drinking is important, it compels the individual to continue the behavior – even despite negative consequences.
While the study can be applied to our understanding of alcoholics, it’s important to note that the heavy drinkers in the study didn’t meet the criteria for alcohol dependence. The researchers’ ultimate objective was to come up with new ways of treating alcohol addiction, according to Jennifer Mitchell, adjunct assistant professor at University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of the study.
Alcohol Addiction Help at The Canyon
If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol addiction, call The Canyon at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.
