00:00New research from Massachusetts is shedding light on how alcohol abstinence may affect the brain.
00:05Scientists at UMass Chan Medical School studied mice after long-term access to alcohol,
00:11followed by forced abstinence.
00:13Some mice later drank alcohol, despite researchers making it increasingly bitter with quinine.
00:18Researchers found unusually high activity in a brain region called the BNST.
00:23In these mice, BNST activity was more than twice as high as in mice that did not undergo forced abstinence.
00:31Importantly, the brain activity appeared before the mice were given access to the bitter alcohol.
00:36That raises the possibility that similar brain signals could eventually help identify people at higher risk of relapse.
00:43The researchers caution that the findings come from mice, and the BNST's exact role remains unclear.
00:49Further studies in people will be needed to determine whether this brain activity could lead to better ways of predicting
00:56and treating alcohol use disorder.
00:58Disclosure. This video contains stock footage and content created or enhanced using AI-assisted tools.
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