Scientists Reveal How Social Isolation May Increase the Risk of Alcohol Use

Social isolation may alter the activity of specific brain regions and, as a result, influence a person's—or an animal's—propensity to consume alcohol. This is the conclusion of a study published in Nature Neuroscience.

Experiments in mice revealed clear differences between males and females. Male mice subjected to social isolation consumed more alcohol, while isolated females, in contrast, showed a decrease in alcohol consumption.

The researchers identified a neural circuit connecting the basolateral amygdala with the medial prefrontal cortex. Increased activity in this pathway was associated with changes in alcohol-related behavior in the animals.

To determine whether this circuit actually drives alcohol consumption, the scientists used optogenetics, a technique that allows researchers to control the activity of nerve cells using light. Artificially activating the circuit in male mice that had not experienced social isolation caused them to consume alcohol at levels similar to those observed in animals that had been isolated.

Conversely, suppressing activity in this neural pathway reduced alcohol consumption.

According to the researchers, the findings provide new insight into the biological mechanisms that may link loneliness and social isolation to an increased risk of excessive alcohol use. The newly identified neural circuit could potentially serve as a target for developing new approaches to preventing and treating alcohol use disorders.

The study also highlights important sex differences: the same factor—social isolation—had opposite effects on alcohol-related behavior in male and female mice. Because the experiments were conducted in animals, however, the findings cannot yet be directly applied to humans.

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