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Scientists found a new brain mechanism linking loneliness to drinking alcohol
Findings offer a biological explanation for why loneliness raises addiction risk
Researchers tracked and controlled brain circuits as mice chose whether to drink alcohol
CHICAGO — Loneliness can reprogram the brain in ways that push alcohol consumption, reports a new preclinical study led by Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The scientists identified, for the first time, a brain mechanism through which isolation escalates alcohol use in male mice but suppresses it in females.
