A possible connection has been found.
A recent study published in Nature Communications suggests that a woman’s binge drinking behavior may be influenced by her hormone levels, particularly estrogen. The study, which was conducted using lab mice, reveals that estrogen appears to encourage binge drinking in females, causing them to consume large amounts of alcohol within the first 30 minutes of access. This discovery could help explain why binge drinking is more prevalent in women and why estrogen might be a contributing factor in this behavior.
According to Kristen Pleil, the senior researcher and assistant professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine, estrogen’s powerful influence on various behaviors, especially in females, could also extend to alcohol consumption. Pleil notes that, during the pandemic, women’s heavy drinking increased more significantly than men’s, leading to higher alcohol-related hospital visits for women. The findings from this study shed light on how estrogen could play a role in these trends.
The researchers observed that when female mice had elevated levels of estrogen, their alcohol consumption increased compared to days when their estrogen levels were low. This binge drinking behavior was linked to increased activity in a brain area known as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), which is associated with drinking behavior. When estrogen levels were high, the neurons in this region exhibited heightened activity, leading to more intense alcohol consumption during the initial moments of drinking.
In a surprising finding, the study revealed that estrogen directly stimulates these neurons, which is a faster mechanism than the typical hormonal influence that alters gene activity over longer periods. This discovery could be the first evidence of estrogen’s rapid effect on brain cells and behavior. Researchers plan to investigate whether a similar process occurs in men, as the biological infrastructure for estrogen signaling exists in both genders, though estrogen is produced differently in males.
These insights could potentially open the door for new treatments for binge drinking, such as interventions that target estrogen levels or the hormone’s influence on brain cells. The research suggests that regulating estrogen’s effect on the brain might offer a new approach to addressing alcohol abuse, particularly among women.
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