Science proves alcohol is fun





Dr Jennifer Mitchell, of the University of California, who led the study, said: ''This is something that we've speculated about for 30 years, based on animal studies, but haven't observed in humans until now. It provides the first direct evidence of how alcohol makes people feel good.''

Researchers scanned the brains of 13 heavy drinkers and 12 non-drinkers immediately after they drank alcohol. Their findings, published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, showed alcohol caused endorphins to be released in the nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex regions.

In all of the volunteers, larger quantities of endorphins released in the nucleus accumbens were linked to increased feelings of pleasure. Increased levels of endorphins released in the orbitofrontal cortex were linked to a greater feeling of intoxication in heavy drinkers, but not in non-drinkers.

Dr Mitchell said: ''This indicates that the brains of heavy or problem drinkers are changed in a way that makes them more likely to find alcohol pleasant, and may be a clue to how problem drinking develops in the first place. That greater feeling of reward might cause them to drink too much.''



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