Drink-Seeking Rats Provide Sobering Look Into Genetics of Alcoholism

Purdue and Indiana University scientists have utilized alcohol craving rats to further enhance comprehension of the complicated genetic support structures for alcoholism. The project led to the discovery of 930 alcoholism related genes, displaying a highly complex trait that is influenced by many genes, together with the surrounding environs. The research model utilized rats, animals with which we share a majority of genes. Highlights from the initiative included the establishment of a link between genetic regulatory gene structures with excessive alcohol consumption, rather than coding gene structures as previously thought. The project’s proponents claimed that everyone had alcoholic genes within, the only difference being our genetic ability to control them. The collaborative research group asserted on the difficulty of alcoholism treatment being brought about by its gene complexity. Nonetheless, they pointed to a further area of further study, which is focusing treatments on the brain’s glutamate receptors (responsible for feelings of well-being).




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