Hunger may drive the propensity to develop alcohol addiction

Researchers at Brown University have discovered a molecular link between hunger and the formation of "reward" memories that play a role in alcohol addiction. The insight could inform strategies for treatment and prevention, the scientists say.

Sherer works in the lab of Karla Kaun, an associate professor of neuroscience at Brown affiliated with the Carney Institute. Previous studies by scientists in Kaun's lab have helped to uncover the role of memory formation underlying addiction - how memories of alcohol as a reward can drive cravings - as well as the role alcohol and other addictive substances play in altering memory pathways.

The researchers observed that genetically silencing or activating a single octopamine neuron in the brain (VUMa3) influenced how soon flies found alcohol rewarding and affected alcohol preference only when the flies were hungry. According to Kaun, the takeaway is that hunger can recruit new neurons to communicate with brain circuits that associate cues in the environment with a rewarding feeling connected to alcohol.

"For example, perhaps you usually pass by a bar you like on your way home from work every day," Kaun said. "But maybe today you're hungry after skipping lunch. You're more likely to notice that cute sign and feel like stopping to have a drink. The cute sign, which didn't entice you when you weren't hungry, can trigger your craving for alcohol."

"We can say from this study that the conditions a person goes through in their lives can influence how they respond to alcohol," Sherer said. "If a person grows up in conditions where they're very hungry or very stressed, they might have a higher propensity to develop an alcohol addiction."

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Brown University

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