Researchers say a new animal study shows that cannabinoid receptor sites in the brain also seem to stimulate the reward and pleasure responses to alcohol, the Ascribe Newswire reported Sept. 7.

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory said the study supports the theory that alcoholism susceptibility may have a genetic basis. "These findings build on our understanding of how various receptors in the brain's reward circuits contribute to alcohol abuse, help us understand the role of genetic susceptibility, and move us farther along the path toward successful treatments," said Brookhaven's Panayotis Thanos, lead author of the study.

The study focused on the CB1 receptors in the brains of mice; those with the receptors showed a stronger preference for alcohol than those who had diminished or missing CB1 function. When mice with normal or diminished CB1 receptors had those receptor sites chemically blocked, they drank less alcohol than before, while the mice who never had active CB1 sites did not change their behavior.

Mice with the normal CB1 receptors also spent more time seeking alcohol than those without the receptors. "These results support our belief that the cannabinoid system and CB1 receptors play a critical role in mediating the rewarding and pleasurable properties of alcohol, contributing to alcohol dependency and abuse," Thanos said.

The research was published in Sept. 2, 2005 in the online edition of the journal Behavioural Brain Research.

Source: Join Together