2008 Woodie Awards
Research links gene to alcohol addiction and anxiety
Daniel Han
Issue date: 10/2/06 Section: Health & Fitness
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Alcoholic beverages are a part of life, and a way of living while learning for a majority of college students. Alcoholic beverages contain an active ingredient called ethanol. Ethanol can be used as a drug and depressant, where chronic use can result in various psychological and physiological disorders. However, one's preference to consume alcohol may be linked at the molecular level: genes.
Recent research links a gene to alcohol addiction and anxiety, providing further evidence of a long-recognized pattern that alcoholism is hereditary. Appearing in the May issue of the "Journal of Neuroscience" and the winter issue of "UIC Medicine Magazine," this study suggests that an innately high-level of anxiety is found on the same gene.
Lead researcher Dr. Subhash C. Pandey, associate professor and director of neuroscience at UIC, writes that ongoing research has continually shown that both genetics and anxiety play "crucial roles" in the complex disease of alcoholism. Pandey states that his findings indicate a clear reason why "30 to 70 percent of alcoholics are reported to suffer from anxiety and depression; and [that] drinking is a way for these individuals to self-medicate."
Dr. Pandey's study focuses on a gene known to produce a protein called CREB (cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein). Pandey believes this gene is important because it regulates brain function during development and learning, and is also involved in the process of alcohol tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms. The gene coding for CREB is found to correspond with the central amygdala in the brain, which is responsible for motivation and emotional behavior. When less CREB was present in the central amygdala, lab rats showed an increased preference for alcohol while anxiety-like behaviors increased.
Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Pandey believes that his study is "the first evidence that a deficiency in the CREB gene is associated with anxiety and alcohol-drinking behavior." Using rats specially bred to be deficient in the 'alcoholism' gene, Pandey found that rats deficient in the protein-producing gene drank an estimated fifty percent more alcohol than normally bred rats. These CREB-deficient rats also displayed a higher preference for alcohol than water, yet they had similar preferences for sugar water with normal rats. This indicates that the consumption of alcohol is not related to taste preferences. Therefore, Pandey believes that the gene for CREB is crucial in triggering alcohol addiction and relief from anxiety.
The ability to tolerate alcohol when first drinking may indicate a genetic risk factor that can leave someone vulnerable to alcoholism. Recent research has shown that both genetics and anxiety are linked and combine to play "crucial roles" in the development of alcoholism. As a result, Dr. Pandey asserts that the CREB gene is the golden key in opening the door to alcoholism. And for college students, this may provide a more credible reason to keep on drinking.
- Page 1 of 1
Recent research links a gene to alcohol addiction and anxiety, providing further evidence of a long-recognized pattern that alcoholism is hereditary. Appearing in the May issue of the "Journal of Neuroscience" and the winter issue of "UIC Medicine Magazine," this study suggests that an innately high-level of anxiety is found on the same gene.
Lead researcher Dr. Subhash C. Pandey, associate professor and director of neuroscience at UIC, writes that ongoing research has continually shown that both genetics and anxiety play "crucial roles" in the complex disease of alcoholism. Pandey states that his findings indicate a clear reason why "30 to 70 percent of alcoholics are reported to suffer from anxiety and depression; and [that] drinking is a way for these individuals to self-medicate."
Dr. Pandey's study focuses on a gene known to produce a protein called CREB (cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein). Pandey believes this gene is important because it regulates brain function during development and learning, and is also involved in the process of alcohol tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms. The gene coding for CREB is found to correspond with the central amygdala in the brain, which is responsible for motivation and emotional behavior. When less CREB was present in the central amygdala, lab rats showed an increased preference for alcohol while anxiety-like behaviors increased.
Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Pandey believes that his study is "the first evidence that a deficiency in the CREB gene is associated with anxiety and alcohol-drinking behavior." Using rats specially bred to be deficient in the 'alcoholism' gene, Pandey found that rats deficient in the protein-producing gene drank an estimated fifty percent more alcohol than normally bred rats. These CREB-deficient rats also displayed a higher preference for alcohol than water, yet they had similar preferences for sugar water with normal rats. This indicates that the consumption of alcohol is not related to taste preferences. Therefore, Pandey believes that the gene for CREB is crucial in triggering alcohol addiction and relief from anxiety.
The ability to tolerate alcohol when first drinking may indicate a genetic risk factor that can leave someone vulnerable to alcoholism. Recent research has shown that both genetics and anxiety are linked and combine to play "crucial roles" in the development of alcoholism. As a result, Dr. Pandey asserts that the CREB gene is the golden key in opening the door to alcoholism. And for college students, this may provide a more credible reason to keep on drinking.
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