driven drinking in early adulthood may permanently rewire the brain, leaving lasting cognitive effects even after years of abstinence.
News
– University of Massachusetts Amherst
– Using alcohol to cope with stress when young may permanently alter the brain, making it harder to adapt to challenges and increasing the risk of returning to drinking later in life. Researchers also found signs of brain damage associated with early dementia, suggesting the effects can linger long after alcohol use has stopped.
Recent research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests that using alcohol to cope with stress in early adulthood may have lasting effects on the brain that do not disappear with years of sobriety. The study found that these changes can begin to surface by middle age, reducing mental flexibility, increasing the likelihood of turning back to alcohol during stressful times, and contributing to patterns of cognitive decline associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Details
Published in the journal Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research, the findings shed new light on how alcohol and stress work together to reshape brain circuits. The researchers say this improved understanding could eventually lead to better treatments that address the long-term effects of alcohol use rather than focusing only on stopping drinking.
How Stress and Alcohol Reinforce Each Other
Scientists have long recognized that stress and alcohol can fuel one another. Alcohol may temporarily ease feelings of stress, but repeated drinking can weaken the brain’s natural ability to manage stress on its own. Over time, this can lead people to rely on alcohol more often, and in larger amounts, to achieve the same relief.
Analysis
At the same time, heavier drinking can increase stress by contributing to poor decisions and their consequences. This creates a cycle that becomes increasingly difficult to break as the brain adapts to repeated exposure to both stress and alcohol. Researchers wanted to understand what those changes look like over the long term.
“My lab studies the neurocircuitry that underlies how we make decisions,” said Elena Vazey, associate professor of biology at UMass Amherst and the study’s senior author. “We all know that drinking can often lead to poor decision-making, but we wondered how early adulthood drinking combined with stress affects that circuitry, especially as we grow older. If we can figure out how alcohol and stress change the brain’s circuitry, then we can help figure out how best to help people.”
Stress and Alcohol Together Cause Greater Brain Changes
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