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Abstract: 

Abstinence is central to many treatments for alcohol use disorder, but new research in mice suggests that brain changes during abstinence may paradoxically increase vulnerability to compulsive drinking and relapse. Researchers found that mice subjected to forced abstinence subsequently consumed alcohol despite an increasingly bitter taste and showed heightened activity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region associated with alcohol use disorder. Significantly, increased BNST activity appeared before renewed alcohol consumption, raising the possibility that it could eventually help identify people at heightened risk of relapse. Ongoing research in humans may determine whether this finding can improve screening and treatment strategies.

Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder; Alcohol Abstinence; Relapse; Compulsive Drinking; BNST; Addiction Neuroscience

Affiliations:  1: UMass Chan Medical School; 2: UMass Chan Medical School.