Latest

binge drinking

This shows a woman and a bottle of scotch

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·February 20, 2021·4 min read

Circadian Rhythm Genes in Key Brain Region Are Involved in Binge Drinking

The circadian CLOCK gene in the nucleus accumbens shell plays a crucial role in binge drinking behaviors in mouse models.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 10, 2020·5 min read

Binge-Drinkers’ Brains Have to Work Harder to Feel Empathy for Others

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 15, 2020·4 min read

Binge drinkers beware, Drunkorexia is calling

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.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 17, 2020·6 min read

A key brain region for controlling binge drinking has been found

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 13, 2020·6 min read

College students use more marijuana in states where it’s legal, but they binge drink less

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 1, 2020·3 min read

New Year’s anxiety hangover? Here’s what’s happening in your brain

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.

This shows a person laying with their head on the table and an empty alcohol bottle

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·December 30, 2019·6 min read

Hangovers happen as your body tries to protect itself from alcohol’s toxic effects

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.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 22, 2019·3 min read

What leads to compulsive alcohol use?

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 18, 2019·3 min read

Adolescent drinking increases anxiety and alcohol abuse risk later in life

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 31, 2019·5 min read

One in Ten older adults currently binge drinks

As many as one in ten older adults frequently binge drink, a new study reports. The risk of binge drinking in older adults is higher for males and for those who smoke or use cannabis.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 21, 2019·4 min read

Neuroscience research questions current alcohol limit

Drinking small amounts of alcohol, like one pint of beer or a large glass of wine, significantly impairs our feeling of being in control of our actions. A new study reveals even one beer can lead to overconfidence in driving ability and make us act in inappropriate, potentially dangerous ways. The study begs the question, are current alcohol limits for driving truly safe?