Researchers report in Alcohol Clinical & Experimental Research that mice exposed to alcohol combined with stress in early adulthood showed lasting brain changes and cognitive deficits when tested at a midlife equivalent.
Study design and results in mice
Researchers exposed mice to repeated combinations of ethanol and a stressor, then re‑tested the animals three months later. The group that experienced both alcohol and stress, but not alcohol or stress alone, showed impaired performance on maze tests and increased alcohol‑seeking when stressed in midlife.
Locus coeruleus and oxidative stress
On post‑mortem analysis the affected mice had dysfunction in the locus coeruleus, a brainstem region involved in attention, memory and the stress response, and higher markers of oxidative stress. The authors link those changes to pathways associated with age‑related neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s disease, but the paper reports findings from an animal model rather than humans.
What researchers and commentators say
"This combination of alcohol and stress actually leads to long‑lasting changes in brain circuitry," said Elena Vazey, PhD, a co‑author and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Outside experts cited by the article say the results align with clinical concerns about chronic heavy drinking. "Alcohol should never be utilized in an attempt to manage stress," said Anthony Robertson, PhD, of George Washington University, noting chronic use can produce neurotoxic effects. Douglas Scharre, MD, neurologist at Ohio State University, added that stopping alcohol often allows recovery if permanent nervous system damage has not occurred.
What this means for humans
The experiment used mice and a specific early‑life pattern of drinking plus stress. Any inference to stress‑related drinking in young adults is tentative; further human research is needed before drawing clinical conclusions.
Image: source article (AOL).
Tags: alcohol, locus coeruleus, oxidative stress, cognitive decline, stress-coping
Topics: Stress, focus & mental clarity, Neuroscience & neuroplasticity