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.

With nearly 30 million Americans living with alcohol use disorder, researchers say activity in a deep brain structure appears before cravings hit.

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…