"The binge gene"
Scientists have found a biological explanation for binge drinking
The reason for the development of predisposition to binge drinking in some people may be mutations in the ALDH1a1 gene responsible for the withdrawal of alcohol from the body, because of which it begins not to help, but to interfere with the work of the "brake" in the pleasure center in the brain, according to an article published in the journal Science (Kim et al., Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a1 mediates a GABA synthesis pathway in midbrain dopaminergic neurons).
"We all constantly encounter situations in our lives in which we get pleasure or experience something pleasant, but at the same time we do not become addicted to them. Every time I publish an article in a journal, the cells in the pleasure center become activated and literally go crazy, but I never became a "science addict". The question arises why this is happening," says Jun Ding from Stanford University (in a press release Enzyme malfunction may be why binge drinking can lead to alcoholism – VM).
Dean and his colleagues found a natural mechanism that protects us from becoming drug addicts for nothing and is partially associated with the development of binge drinking by observing the behavior of mice who drink alcohol for the first time or were on a binge, and the work of their brains during alcohol consumption.
During these observations, scientists revealed an unusual function performed by the enzyme aldehyde dihydrogenase (ALDH1a1) in addition to its main role – the decomposition of toxic decomposition products of alcohol to carboxylic acids.
It turned out that this enzyme is also involved in the production of molecules of a special signaling substance – gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which plays the role of the main "brake" of the nervous system, in the cells of the pleasure center.
As experiments on "normal" mice have shown, alcohol consumption leads to the fact that these neurons produce and secrete into the surrounding brain tissues not only dopamine, the hormone of happiness, but also GABA molecules. Due to this, the feeling of pleasure received from drinking alcohol is dulled, which reduces the likelihood that the animal will go on a binge.
If a mutation appears in this enzyme that prevents the assembly of GABA molecules, then the mouse immediately, even if it has never consumed alcohol before, becomes a binge alcoholic. Something similar happens with periodic alcohol consumption, as a result of which the activity of ALDH1a1 decreases, and it begins to produce less gamma-aminobutyric acid.
Thus, the presence of mutations in the gene containing the "instructions" for the assembly of ALDH1a1 may explain why some people quickly become binge drinkers, while others, with a normal version of this enzyme, do not experience cravings for repeated alcohol consumption.
Scientists hope that further study of the differences in the work of ALDH1a1 in healthy and heavy drinkers and animals will help them understand how to restore the work of this enzyme in the body of alcoholics and learn how to use it to bring people out of binge drinking.
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05.10.2015