Moderate drinkers who have a pattern of binge drinking are five times more likely to develop alcohol use disorders than moderate drinkers who do not binge drink.
Adolescent binge drinking has vast functional implications on the developing brain, researchers report. Binge drinking decreases function in areas responsible for sensory, motor, memory, and cognitive processes.
Those who live in neighborhoods that are considered safe, orderly, and have a more interconnected social environment are at higher risk of embarking on binge drinking episodes, a new study reports.
The circadian CLOCK gene in the nucleus accumbens shell plays a crucial role in binge drinking behaviors in mouse models.
Study reveals binge drinking is associated with more widespread neural dysfunction than previously believed. In those who binge drink, the visual areas of the brain show unusually high levels of activation. Additionally, those who binge drink have more difficulty in feeling empathy for others.
One in three women between the ages of 18 and 24 report saving their calories for binge drinking episodes. Researchers say the behavior can contribute to what they call "drunkorexia," characterized by disordered patterns of eating to offset the negative effects of excess alcohol consumption, such as weight gain.
Turning off kappa opioid receptors in the brain decreases the urge the binge drink. Findings suggest the kappa opioid receptor system is important not only for the negative state of withdrawal but also for driving binge drinking behaviors.
Marijuana use rates are increasing in college students in states where recreational use has been legalized. Following cannabis legalization, binge drinking rates between the cohort group fell significantly.
Hangxiety, the feeling of waking up with anxiety the morning after heavy drinking, is a common symptom associated with a hangover. Researchers explain how a heavy night's drinking alters neurochemistry, leaving some of us prone to waking with anxiety.
Researchers explore the biology behind hangovers, including how excessive alcohol consumption alters glutamate, serotonin, and dopamine. The paper also examines how to reduce the effects of a heavy night's drinking.
A network linking the medial prefrontal cortex and brainstem plays a critical role in the development of compulsive drinking disorder and is a driver for its expression.
Teenage binge drinking is linked to altered gene expression in the brain, specifically the central nucleus of the amygdala. Adolescent rats exposed to alcohol had increased levels of miR-137, resulting in lower expression of proteins essential for healthy neuron growth. During adulthood, these rats displayed higher levels of anxiety and an increased preference for alcohol consumption.
