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January 12th, 2012
05:29 PM ET
How the brain can make quitting alcohol harderIf you like to drink but want to stop and don't seem to have to willpower to do so, it may be because chemicals in your brain are telling you to order another pint, new research suggests. It's been long thought that alcohol triggers the release of naturally occurring opioids in the brain's reward centers, but research has documented how this process works only in animals. A new study in the journal Science Translational Medicine offers insights into why alcohol can be so addictive in humans. Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to look at the distribution of chemicals in the brains of volunteers. Participants were 13 "heavy social drinkers" and 12 healthy control subjects. Women considered "heavy social drinkers" usually consume 10 to 16 drinks per week, and heavy-drinking men typically have 14 to 20 drinks per week. Those in the control group drink fewer than five drinks per week among women, and seven drinks per week among men. It seems that some people experience this opioid release differently. Researchers found a correlation between how good volunteers felt after drinking and the amount of opioid released. In the heavy drinkers, a single drink leads to the release of more opioid in the orbital frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens - two regions that play a role in reward. In other words, 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. And the orbital frontal cortex makes them subconsciously learn to want that rush of pleasure again - making them seek and crave alcohol in a way they're not even aware of. "If you’re getting some reinforcement or reward from something, like alcohol or other kinds of abusable drugs, at that level your brain is telling you this is something important to you," said Michael Owens, a neuropharmacologist at Emory University who was not involved in the study. That means if you're an alcoholic and consciously want to stop drinking, it's hard to stop because part of your brain has learned that drinking is important and compels you to continue. "It’s something you have to fight to not partake in again," he said. It's important to note, however, that this study did not involve alcoholics. Many of the "heavy drinkers" in this study would have on average two drinks a day, which isn't necessarily going to lead to dependency. Owens said the results of this study were not surprising, but it was good that the hypothesis about how alcohol works in the brain was confirmed by science. The researchers' ultimate objective is to come up with new ways of treating alcohol addiction, said Jennifer Mitchell, adjunct assistant professor at University of California, San Francisco and lead author of the study. Currently, the main drug available to help addicts stay off alcohol and drugs that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is naltrexone. This drug binds to the same receptors in the brain that opioids would bind to, so the opioids don't have anywhere to go. "When you do drink, the alcohol gives you less of a reward," Mitchell explains. "You feel less good than you would otherwise." But few doctors prescribe naltrexone, partly because of the side effects, Mitchell says. Headaches, nausea, irritability and achiness can result from this medication, which would drive people away from it, especially if they're already in withdrawal and trying not to drink. This new research gives ammunition to justify looking for alternatives to naltrexone, Owens said. Still, making a drug that acts in the brain with fewer side effects is tricky, even if you try to isolate specific brain regions, he said. Brain regions that perform different functions have similar biochemistry, so it's hard to affect some without also touching upon others. The next step in this line of inquiry is to look at the role that other opioid receptors play, Mitchell said, and then determine which receptors a drug should affect in order to get the benefits without the side effects.
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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This is hardly news.
That's true. This study must be oblivious to the many studies before it which found the same thing. This correlation was the basis for Rational Recovery, which has been around for, what, 30 years?
Maybe they had grant money and no idea of what to do with it, so they discovered something that was already known.
Science has to prove what we already know intuitively. Many times what we think we know intuitively is not true and science tells us that. Other times it tells us stuff like "eating excess calories makes you gain weight." We first have to prove something is correct before we can fix it.
I'm curious why researchers "ultimate objective is to come up with new ways of treating alcohol addiction" seems to focus so heavily on finding new medications to treat alcoholism when there are numerous natural ways to stimulate endorphin release.
This is why we should be smoking the herb, instead of pi$$ing out our livers.
I'm right there with ya, Bud. Alcohol is poison.
I tend to agree with you about alcohol being poison. My mom had a master's degree in mathematics and a minor in psychology. She was very smart but not smart enough to quit drinking. She had an alcohol overdoes when she was 37.
I have had my own struggles with alcohol and, at this time of my life (41), I choose not to drink. Neither Pot nor Alcohol are effective tools for dealing with stress; however, I believe that my mom would be alive today if she was a pothead and not an alcoholic.
On another note, I have done many stupid things in my life. I have tried nearly everything. I can tell you, Alcohol is the strongest drug that I have ever done. What other drug can leave you passed out on the floor with the world spinning around you, unable to move and choking on your own vomit?
The prohibition experiment was proven not to work. It had the reverse effect of what was intended and evil people got rich off of it. The same thing is going on now with the drug war.
Yeah, because filling your lungs with smoke is good for you.
@mizzyd potsmoke is less harmful than cigarette smoke. but sarcasm is more harmful than all
You do know either one can kill you, idiot. But go ahead, ruin your life
You do know that it has been proven that you can't overdose on pot. You might pass out for quite a while after smoking a lot, but never will u die. trust me...if what you said is true, then I would have died long ago. Weed will be legal soon all across this nation, so get over it haters. I can't wait for that day. The War on Drugs is one of this nation's biggest failures, and yet congress still think they have it under control. They don't see how ridiculous it is that alcohol is legal, and pot (a non-addictive,medicinal herb) is illegal. And it is probably because they are all drunks in congress anyway.
Ron Paul 2012!!!
I thought everything in our body, including the brain, is electrochemical. Why is it necessary to separate this issue out unless you guys have solved the mind-body problem?!
I drink, therefore I am.
But does alcohol make quitting the brain easier?
That's the problem, we may never know...
lol
Yes! Now where did I put my drink?
Seems like a rather moot discussion. What's the alternative, not having a brain? I'll take the alcohol addiction, thanks.
This is why that cashier wrote lady chinky eyes.
I knew that was going to stick.
Legalize pot and no one will drink anymore.
Do that and no one will work anymore either.... The world will stop and come to an end, even before the Mayans predicted......
not true. i love drinking but kinda hate weed and i know many many people like me. weed does not make me feel happy and relaxed, in fact it makes me paranoid and scared most of the time. this is what makes humans all so different. my weed friends just don't get that perspective but then again they also don't drink and get my perspective on that. there is no single rule for everyone. everyone needs to follow there own rules.
The hell I will! I'll take a delicious chilled gin martini over a joint any day!
Actually, Spencer, many people enjoy the buzz they get from alcohol, and enjoy the flavor of their chosen hooch as well.
As for you, "Nope" - that's completely untrue. Many cannabis users are social users, just as many drinkers are social drinkers. The notion that "pot heads" are lazy and lack ambition is pure propaganda.
Ok let me rephrase: Legalize pot and SOME people will drink less.
And the world will not stop, the stuff was legal all the way up untill that Regan guy decided he didn't like mexicans.
George Washington smoked it, Abrham Lincoln's favorite past time was to "sit on his porch and enjoy a toke".
It was actually illegal not to grow it in some colonies because of the high demand for hemp.
You can produce bio-diesel with it. (much more efficent than ethanol)
Going to quit? Do it with doctor supervision!!!!!!!!!!!! I did not and had a seizure 3 days later.
I'm willing to bet you were more than just a heavy social drinker.
Thanks for your recommendations on this blog. Just one thing I want to say is the fact that pcirhasung electronic devices and computer items in the Internet is certainly not new. In reality, in the past several years alone, the market for online electronic products has grown significantly. Today, you will discover practically any kind of electronic device and other product on the Internet, including TV and camcorders to computer components and gadgets.
But why even try quitting when its so tasty?
Posted on Do you people have a fbooacek fan page? I looked for one on twitter but could not discover one, I would really like to become a fan!
I know some people who drink a lot, and they don't even have a brain.
this article is making me thirsty
Heck, I was drinking a beer when I started reading the article. After reading it and the comments – all this talk about beer made me want to have another!
Two drinks a day is not addiction – it's healthy consumption. It's been long established that it's good for you and your local winemaker.
What's the definition of an alcoholic?
Someone who drinks more than their doctor.
This just in, brain controls everything you do.
I don't trust anyone who doesn't drink.
I agree YourMom.
I think it's because many people who drink do so because they have a conscience. Pyschopayhs and serial killers are rarely alcohol dependent. Just an observation. But in 52 years I've found that sometimes the most sensitive and kind drink because it numbs them to the hardness of the world.
How stupid. People choose not to drink for many reasons, including medical problems that make drinking dangerous for them. And alcohol dulls the conscience, which is why so many crimes are committed by drunks. I think both of you have already had far too much to drink.
It seems to me that it's quite similar to sex – the more you have, the more you want. "That means if like sex and consciously want to stop sexting, it's hard to stop because part of your brain has learned that sexting is important and compels you to continue." Duh!
An alcoholic is someone who cannot admit they've got a problem.
*hic... i've got a problem *hic... beer please
I'm a drunk, not an alcoholic. Alcoholics go to meetings.
AA is for quitters!
i feel that many many people way underestimate the amount of drinks they consume. i myself used to think, oh i'm only a social drinker and when a doctor would ask i would lowball the total. so those in the study that say they drink 20 a week on average, i bet odds on it's in reality, if you had a hidden camera on them all 24/7, that they are actually drinking more like 60-90 "technical" drinks per week. those who don't drink may even high ball those numbers. you either drink alot or you really don't drink at all. the middle is a very slim marginal line.
I think that is a very keen observation.
Another point is the size of the glass. A standard alcoholic drink is 2/3 cup (wine) or 1oz (liquor) but people frequently use giant wine glasses, or pour long drinks, so thye might have 20 glasses a week, but it could be 30 or 40 standard alcoholic drinks.
Dont forget about body weight, too. A 150 lb man or a 110 pound woman is obviously consuming much more alcohol per pound with each drink that a 200 lb man. !0 drinks for the big guy is like 15 or 20 for the little guy.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate lays out all of this info. Great read! American doctors are so far behind in research. This is old news.
It was hard to stop drinking, using marijuana for me.Naltrexone helped, and without the side effects. I'm happier not doing anything now.
Interesting stuff. I quit drinking five years ago. I just loved the sensation of getting and being drunk. I used to positively luxuriate in the experience, alone. Being with people detracted from the experience–too much "work."
I quit alcohol 32 years ago in aa, i find it harder to quit meeting up with escorts
I was a very heavy drinker for years and wanted to quit but wasn't sold on AA (no judgement though- it obviously works for a lot of people), so my sister told me about a book called "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking" by Allen Carr. I finished reading it 9 months ago and haven't had a drink since. Carr was right; it actually was pretty easy, and life's a lot better now. He also wrote a book about how to stop smoking that sold something like 6 million copies. I'm not trying to sound like a commercial: I just thought I'd put this out there in case anyone's looking for a way to stop.
Great story, but man, what is that watch – very cool!!! I want one!
Thanks for the laughs all... both the tokers and the drinkers. It reminds me not to take life too seriously.
Not to get preachy (which means I am)... if it ever gets to be a problem God can help you. Find an AA meeting or other addiction recovery program. I go to the LDS Addiction Recovery Program.
God Bless
Perhaps we're all just brains in vats–vats full of beer!
Damn that brain . Always gets in the way.
there's more old drunks than there are old doctors so I guess I better have another round
~ Willie Nelson
I was disturbed to find that I am a heavy drinker... i write this as i am drinking a glass of wine. It's oh so good!
Perhaps the brains of stupidity that posted here are not going to be the brains of one pleading for a liver transplant due to self inflicted alcoholism. For those who are dying of self inflicted liver cancer or has a friend or family member dying of it...I'd love to be a fly on your wall when you're begging for mercy to live or keep that person alive. Cheers to those who are stronger and smarter than the people who take alcoholism seriously. Lord knows I'd give anything to have the strength to turn and walk away from alcohol. And to those that sarcastically post after me, I hope when you experience heartache one day, you remember the stupid comments your "brain" made on here. Alcohol is a choice like a baby sucking their thumb...unfortunately one can kill you and one can give you buck teeth. The support ee give to a thumb sucker is by far more than the support you just gave to someone wanting to save their life.
You are all missing the point. If you are addicted, there is no choice in the matter. You may wish to desist, but you have no ability to do so. Addiction subverts the will.
Formerly a drunk, no longer drinking. Quit because I wanted to quit. Didn't want to endanger my family or friends. Seemed like the thing to do. It wasn't really a hard thing to do. No withdrawal, no side effects, just quit. Maybe I hadn't pickled my brain as much as a heavy drinker. My brother was a true alcoholic. He had seizures and other disorders from too much of the juice. I think it does truly change the brains chemical balance. It is a terrible depressant. Probably genetically inherited to be an alcoholic as well. So...if you're a drunk, keep your kids away from the stuff because they will follow you in your footsteps. If you want to quit and need help, have the guts to get the help. If you want to drink and drink until you're done, then do so, but do not drive. Also do not discuss politics or religion while drunk. Pretty dangerous as well. Cheers!
You are Correct...sounds like you and I were in the same boat...Thank you for your comment..Mike
Defn of an alcoholic: someone who contimues to consume alcohol despite spirally increasing consumption-related problems in the legal, relationship, work place, legal, financial, moral and spiritual areas.
If chugging a few beers or doing a few shots every once in a while will keep me from getting a stroke or heart attack from the existential angst that I get from dealing with hormone-infested, educationally-challenged co-workers, starry-eyed, better-than-thou lifestyle fetishists and the effects of leadership by crooked, inept megalomaniacs upon the world and my life, I'll drink to my health.
There is a natural alternative to naltrexone with no serious side effects that is already being used by some enlightened people to consume less alcohol, or quit altogher. It is cannabis, or marijuana, and this is just one of many uses, besides "getting high", that it is good for. Not that getting high is bad. In fact, getting high is a wellness exercise in itself, and all use of cannabis is not "abuse" as some would say. It is a shame that cannabis will never be made legal federally until a constutional amendment does it, and that will take a while, just like it did with alcohol prohibiton.
What about the folks that like to do both at the same time. That can really be a dangerous combination.
was a HEAVY drinker... 15+ a night on work nights, more on weekend... quit the stuff a little under 3 years ago. and im a bit of an athiest so the whole AA thing was not my flavor. i talked to my doc and he gave me naltrexone. it sat in my cabinet for a few months till i was ready to take it and woah... first of all when i took it i was blind drunk and had a bit of the ganga... when i woke up i was in bed and paralyzed for about 2 hours. i counted ceiling tiles until i was comfortable moving. wheni finally got up i went to the fridge fiull of beer and an odd thing happened. i didn't need one. nor did i want one. this naltrexone had just saved my life and it was a wonder drug to me. i decided it was time when i wanted to do so and after 2 months on the naltrexone i was done. havent had a drink since 2/28/2009 and i miss nothing. i have the occasional binge smoking weekends nowadays, but have no need for the liquid courage. i have become a terrible introvert though and lost alot of my drinking buddies. (BTW those who do decide to quit, your drinking friends will just move on without you and your real friends, if none then so be it, but even if one, thats more than you really had with your drinking friends anyway.) i found alot of money in my bank account, upgraded my apartment, and life is no different. its more depressing as i don't medicate with anything constantly anymore, but its something that if not prescribed to me by my doc i would have died of liver failure years ago. im 35, and naltrexone is the greatest thing since sliced bread to me.
So tax the Biggest Killer in the USA like they did SMoking,Who by the way dont KILL NOR INJURE ANYONE Else Like Alcohol does.......
Doesnt work. I'm from Canada, where booze is taxed to the hilt. "Sin tax", they call it. So liquor is much more expensive here. People drink just as much if not more, and it just leads to even more desperate alcoholics, as a greater percentage of whatever cheques they get goes to booze.Just a cash cow for the government.
some of us have to drink to numb the existential pain of our environment,barricading us mentally from the useless drivel that comes out of the mouths of the lackeys surrounding us
why stop drinking? how silly
MILLIONS TO BE ASSASSINATED FOR THE SAKE OF $$$ LIABILITIES(mk-ultra, chip implants, electroshocks etc. performed on them) AND NEW WORLD ORDER(multiculturalism = terrorism) POLITICAL AGENDA KNOWN AS "YOU ARE NEXT"(financial liabilities are 2 expensive for the government and it is cheaper to get read of you instead) !!! IF YOU WERE TREATED WITH ELECTROSHOCKS OR DRUGS USED FOR WIPING OUT MEMORY(numerous Americans and Europeans were and are) AFTER ENDURING FORCED CHIP IMPLANTS(or to retard individual = how homeless people are produced), YOU ARE SCHEDULED NEXT !!!
NOW YOU KNOW WHAT ORWELLIAN UNITED STATES CONGRESS(USSR#2 which consists of lawyers or what are liars and physicians...lawyers, so crime per physicians can get away with it) AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS WORLDWIDE ARE SOOO BUSY WITH WHEN PLAYING/CLOWNING(acting) IN FRONT OF CAMERAS ONLY HOW SOMETHING HAVE TO BE DONE(deliberately omitting/delaying facts of genocide as seen on this complain) !! I AM NOT ROMNEY EITHER WHOSE FATHER EXCELLED AFTER GM WAS DELIBERATELY SCREWED LIKE AMERICA TODAY(success based on deliberate sabotage or grand treason) !!!
http://myshortbiography.blogspot.com/
LEARN TRUTH ABOUT UNITED NATIONS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AS WELL AS NEW WORLD ORDER(MULTICULTURALISM = TERRORISM) GOVERNMENTS(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) !!! NOT THERE TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS, BUT TO DENY YOUR RIGHT TO EXISTENCE !!!
ABDUCTIONS / FORCED BRAIN CHIP IMPLANTS / BLACKLISTING / FORCEFUL UNEMPLOYMENT / MK-ULTRA BRAINWASHING AGAINST WHITE(under "NAZI" lie) CIVILIAN POPULATION TODAY IN 2011/2012 ACROSS THE EUROPE AND NORTHERN AMERICA !!!
http://myshortbiography.blogspot.com/
WHY TO ACCEPT LIABILITIES FOR CRIMES COMMITTED WHEN WE CAN SIMPLY ASSASSINATE OUR VICTIMS(YOU) THANKS TO HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS AND FREE PRESS/MEDIA(most severe censorship of genocide ever !!!)!!
OR
http://www.youtube.com/user/BostjanAvsec OBAMA'S HEALTH CARE RECORDED LIVE IN 2009 !!! EXILING WHITES(US citizens) WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE AND IMPORTING NON WHITES IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS FREE !!!
Anyone with addiction problems has known this for years. I have had addiction to opiates, cigarettes and alcohol, and I can tell you that the hardest to kick, by a longshot. is cigarettes, followed by alcohol, followed by opiates, which were a distant third. Ironically, the least harmful addiction by far, are opiates. People die from them because they overdose on bad street drugs, get diseases from sharing needles, and have to resort to crime to get the drugs. And we spend almost all our addiction fighting resources on opiate addictions, making sure that the conditions that kill people continue.
James you said your mother had an alcohol problem but she "wasnt smart enough" to quit drinking. I think thats an erroneous comment. Addiction overrides many of the brains abilities, it doesnt have to do with intelligence.
Whats great is to see, is a success story like Eddie Van Halen being able to quit and function well. I wish he would share some of his stay sober secrets. Some people its too hard to quit, and knocks them on their end when they try. If he falls off the wagon, i wont hold it against him. Its not easy, and i would imagine less so if your on tour. good luck Eddie.
I'm NOT a Doctor, no science major..just abuse, and I will tell anyone that if YOU want to quit alcohol, Drugs, even cigarettes just Do It...I'm nothing special, but after 40 years of cigarettes, 18 years of alcohol..you just QUIT...I did with little help..I did because I wanted too !!! you too..just do it...make up your mind and stick to it and you can do it too....!!!! After the first, maybe second week it becomes easy...just do it....
I would rather be drunk everyday then ever darken the door of another cult, errr, aa meeting.
Big Pharma needs to find a way to sell you their drug so you will leave alcohol alone. They don't make money off of that. "You don't need a drink...take these pills instead"
Magnificent goods from you, man. I've understand your stuff evuriops to and you're just extremely great. I actually like what you have acquired here, really like what you're stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it smart. I cant wait to read much more from you. This is actually a great site.
.....see you at the bar...
I believe that addicts and alcoholics are 'wired' differently than non, normal, and moderate drinkers. I think that most people understand that. There are lots of resources online for suffering alcoholics and addicts. I am glad to see that some quality resources are appearing for drug addicts and alcoholics on the internet. Many people are suffering around the Nation from addiction and are in need of treatment. Check out http://www.drugtreatmentus.com/. They have some good information on how to get help.
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