​A new study suggests that alcohol can trigger changes in brain chemistry in an area which is central to development of additions.

University of Illinois researchers say that the brain pathways used in the highs of drinking, like euphoria and anxiolysis, are the same as those used to prime the brain for addiction. This form of high is clinically referred to as a level of sedation as the person is relaxed but awake.

“We’re seeing that dependent behaviors may not always be from long-term, high-quantity habits but a result of rapid epigenetic changes in the brain, which we show in this study may start happening even at low doses,” said Subhash Pandey, director of the Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics in the UIC College of Medicine and the papers senior author.

The paper published in Molecular Psychiatry describes Subhash’s experiments in which he placed rats under alcohol expose conditions.

Rodents were observed as they explored as a maze following exposure to low concentrations of alcohol. The team then analyzed brain tissue samples (collected after euthanasia) and searched for gene expression patterns.

Gene analysis showed that in hypoxia inducible factor 3 alpha subunit (Hif3a) was associated with brain changes in alcohol exposure and behaviors.

To show why these changes occur, researchers suggested that because Hif3a’s chromatin — bundles of DNA and RNA — is loosely bundled, the genes are easily accessible for transcription changes.

“Alcohol use disorder is complex and challenging to overcome. The information we learned from this study helps us to understand better what is happening in the brain and, one day, may be leveraged to develop better treatments and pharmaceuticals,” Subhash said.

Read the full study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01732-2

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