Alcohol diverts how the brain creates memories – in fruit flies

Alcohol consumption diverts brain pathways that form memories, according to scientists who study the causes of addiction.

The study on flies published in the journal neuron indicates that even low doses of alcohol alter how certain genes are expressed.

The team hopes that this research could one day form the basis of treatment for drug addicts, as it would better understand how our body forms its cravings.

Researchers studying the causes of addiction have conducted a study on fruit flies. Getty Images

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Anyone who has had a hangover can say that substances such as alcohol can trigger painful side effects for the body. The same goes for opiates, cocaine and methamphetamines – but users are still attracted by the feeling of reward that they produce. Scientists wanted to study this contradictory attraction at the molecular level.

Karla Kaun, lead author of the journal and assistant professor of neuroscience at Brown University, explained to Newsweek"As you drink, you create memories for the signals of your environment, such as the sensation of the glass or the bouquet of your wine, which become associated with the feeling of being intoxicated.

"Our study provides genetic and biochemical evidence that relatively low doses of alcohol can activate a highly conserved cellular signaling pathway in the brain, resulting in changes in the expression of genes important to the body." learning and memory. "

Kaun said that memories associated with addictive substances such as alcohol lasted for a relatively long time and could cause the relapse of drug addicts into recovery.

"This [the study] suggests that the genes expressed in your reward circuits change as you create memories for the pharmacological properties of alcohol, "she said.

Kaun explained that fruit flies were used in the study because the team had to manipulate the genes precisely to be able to study the brain circuits as the animals formed memories.

The way in which the brain of fruit flies forms memories is similar to that of humans, but in a reduced version of 100,000 neurons versus 100 billion. To identify the proteins associated with reward behaviors, researchers formed flies at the search for alcohol and have turned on and off some genes.

The data revealed that alcohol activates a protein called Notch, implicated in the functioning of the brain.

"Our data suggest that alcohol-induced activation of the highly conserved Notch pathway and the transcriptional responses that accompany it in memory circuits contribute to addiction," Kaun said.

However, the use of flies poses an obstacle to the extent to which the results resemble what happens in the human brain.

"We hope that our work will inspire other scientists to apply these findings to mammals in order to understand if the same mechanisms are occurring in our brain," she said.

Dr. Peter Giese, Professor of Neurobiology of Mental Health at King's College London, UK, pointed out that the study suggests that the Notch signaling process is at the base of the processes of memory that lead to lasting changes in gene transcription.

"Therefore, the study not only provides a model for understanding the persistence of addiction, it also identifies potential pharmacological targets for the treatment of addiction," he said.

Giese said Newsweek"I've been impressed by the fact that exposure to alcohol can induce such lasting changes in gene expression in a critical memory center of fruit flies."

If this association is further investigated, the research could be used to confirm that the addiction can be prevented by interfering with Notch signaling and its modifications of the target transcription, said Giese.

With regard to the takeaway message to members of the public concerned about the consequences of alcohol consumption on their brains, Mr. Giese said: "The reader should be aware that the consumption Alcohol can cause addiction that is most likely due to the activation of memory processes – processes that allow us to remember things for a very long time. "

Earlier this year, the authors of a separate study found that excessive consumption of alcohol, once, can disrupt the gene that regulates sleep.

For the study published in the Journal of Neurochemistry, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia allowed mice to take excessive drinking and assess their sleep patterns.

Dr. Ivona Bialas, a lecturer at the Brighton and Sussex School of Medicine who did not participate in the study, said Newsweek At the time: "The results, if they can be reproduced, are staggering, highlighting the enormous impact that even small amounts of alcohol have on sleep."