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AUD

This shows two heads, brains and a glass.

·April 10, 2025·3 min read

Heavy Drinking Linked to Brain Lesions and Cognitive Decline Risk

Consuming eight or more alcoholic drinks per week is associated with brain lesions known as hyaline arteriolosclerosis, which can impair memory and thinking. These lesions are signs of damaged blood vessels that restrict blood flow and gradually harm brain tissue.

This shows a man drinking and a brain in a glass.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 2, 2025·5 min read

Heavy Alcohol Use Causes Long-Term Brain Damage

For the first time, scientists have shown how heavy alcohol use leads to long-term cognitive impairments by damaging brain circuits responsible for decision-making. In a rat model, animals exposed to high alcohol levels performed significantly worse on a complex, shifting-reward task, even after nearly three months of sobriety.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 12, 2025·7 min read

Semaglutide Shows Promise in Reducing Alcohol Cravings and Consumption

A new study suggests that semaglutide, a drug commonly used for diabetes and obesity, may also help reduce alcohol consumption. Researchers found that weekly injections of semaglutide decreased alcohol cravings, drinking quantity, and heavy drinking days in adults with alcohol use disorder. Participants receiving semaglutide consumed less alcohol in a controlled lab setting and reported reduced cravings compared to those receiving a placebo.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 20, 2024·4 min read

How Alcohol Impairs the Brain’s Ability to Adapt and Learn

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) disrupts cognitive flexibility, crucial for learning and adapting to change. New research reveals that chronic alcohol exposure alters the firing patterns of cholinergic interneurons (CINs), key neurons in the brain’s striatum that regulate dopamine and influence reward-driven learning.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 2, 2024·5 min read

How Alcohol Increases Pain Tolerance, and Aggression

Alcohol not only raises pain tolerance but also amplifies aggression, according to a new study. Researchers found that participants who drank alcohol had higher pain thresholds and were more willing to inflict painful shocks on others.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 27, 2024·4 min read

Does Alcohol Consumption Contribute to Hair Loss?

A systematic review and meta-analysis explored whether alcohol consumption influences androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most common form of hair loss. The study found a modest association between drinking and AGA, with drinkers 1.4 times more likely to experience AGA than non-drinkers, though the link was not statistically significant.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 27, 2024·4 min read

Finger Lengths May Reveal Insights Into Drinking Habits

The relative lengths of your fingers might be linked to your alcohol consumption patterns. Researchers found that individuals with longer 4th (ring) fingers relative to 2nd (index) fingers, indicating high prenatal testosterone exposure, are more likely to consume alcohol.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 14, 2024·3 min read

Beer Drinkers Have Poorer Diets, Lower Activity Levels

Beer-only drinkers have the lowest diet quality, highest caloric intake, and lowest physical activity levels compared to those who drink wine, liquor, or a combination. Researchers analyzed over 1,900 U.S. adults and found beer drinkers scored lowest on the Healthy Eating Index, while wine drinkers scored highest.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 12, 2024·5 min read

After the Pandemic, Alcohol Use Remains Elevated

U.S. alcohol use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and has stayed elevated post-pandemic, posing serious health risks. Heavy drinking rose by 20% during the pandemic, and the increase continued in 2022. This trend spanned across most demographics, with the highest rise among adults aged 40-49.

This shows a man's face and broken bottles.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·November 5, 2024·5 min read

Gene Study Links Alcohol Addiction to Accelerated Alzheimer’s Progression

Researchers discovered alcohol use disorder (AUD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibit similar patterns of gene dysregulation, hinting that alcohol consumption may hasten Alzheimer’s progression. By analyzing gene expression across individual brain cells, the team found shared disruptions in inflammation, cell signaling, and blood vessel functions in both disorders.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 11, 2024·5 min read

Higher IQ in High School Linked to Increased Alcohol Use in Adulthood

A new study shows that individuals with higher IQs in high school are more likely to consume alcohol moderately or heavily later in life, though less likely to binge drink. This connection may be due to social factors, such as income level and career stress, that often accompany higher IQs. Researchers used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, revealing that each IQ point increase correlated with a 1.6% rise in moderate or heavy drinking.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 23, 2024·4 min read

Memory Cues May Help Reduce Alcohol Consumption

A study suggests that recalling past alcohol experiences before drinking can slow down consumption, indicating a potential strategy to reduce alcohol intake. In the study, women who remembered a previous drinking episode took longer to consume an alcoholic beverage, possibly due to reduced motivation to drink. This approach, along with strong health warnings, may offer new methods to curb excessive alcohol consumption. Further research is needed to explore this effect in males.

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AUD

Heavy Drinking Linked to Brain Lesions and Cognitive Decline Risk

Heavy Alcohol Use Causes Long-Term Brain Damage

Semaglutide Shows Promise in Reducing Alcohol Cravings and Consumption

How Alcohol Impairs the Brain’s Ability to Adapt and Learn

How Alcohol Increases Pain Tolerance, and Aggression

Does Alcohol Consumption Contribute to Hair Loss?

Finger Lengths May Reveal Insights Into Drinking Habits

Beer Drinkers Have Poorer Diets, Lower Activity Levels

After the Pandemic, Alcohol Use Remains Elevated

Gene Study Links Alcohol Addiction to Accelerated Alzheimer’s Progression

Higher IQ in High School Linked to Increased Alcohol Use in Adulthood

Memory Cues May Help Reduce Alcohol Consumption

Why We Are Misjudging How Childhood Trauma Changes the Body

Everyday Habit Changes Lowers Dementia Risk

Legalized Cannabis Does Not Increase Consumption

Disrupted Neuronal Microexons Drive Hyperarousal and Insomnia

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