Stimulating Neurons Using Light could Reduce Alcohol Addiction in Rats

Using light to stimulate certain neurons might help in lowering binge drinking, at least in rodents, a new study has found.

The study, conducted by researchers at University at Buffalo, shows that alcoholism in rats can be controlled by stimulating some neurons. The research could pave way for new types of addiction treatment.

Their work found a causal relationship between "the release of dopamine in the brain and drinking behaviors of animals," says a press statement.

Dopamine is a chemical messenger and is associated with behavior, emotional response and more importantly the ability to feel pleasure. The chemical plays a major role in addiction.

"By stimulating certain dopamine neurons in a precise pattern, resulting in low but prolonged levels of dopamine release, we could prevent the rats from binging. The rats just flat out stopped drinking," said Caroline E. Bass, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

What's more? The rodents avoided alcohol even after the neuron stimulation stopped.

Using Light instead of Electricity

In the study, researchers used light to stimulate neurons instead of electricity.

"Electrical stimulation doesn't discriminate," Bass explains. "It hits all the neurons, but the brain has many different kinds of neurons, with different neurotransmitters and different functions. Optogenetics allows you to stimulate only one type of neuron at a time."

Bass sent a virus into the rats' brain. The virus had a gene that codes for a light-responsive protein. This gene then activated a set of dopamine neurons.

"I created a virus that will make this protein only in dopaminergic neurons," she said.

Since the latest technique affects only dopamine neurons, it can also be used in treating several other mental disorders that are due to changes in dopamine levels.

Some of the mental conditions that can be treated using this method are Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and depression, according to the researchers.

The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Watch this video  to learn more about Optogenetics.