Coffee May Help Counteract Some Effects of Alcohol on the Brain and Reduce the Risk of Addiction.
Alcohol alters the behavior of its consumers. Previous studies have shown that caffeine can interfere with the effects of alcohol. A recent study has explored this relationship in greater detail.
In experiments conducted with rats, a group of researchers from Italy and the United States found that caffeine has a strong impact on the dopamine transmission pathway (the mesolimbic pathway), which is a crucial part of the pleasure system when the brain releases the hormone dopamine.
Caffeine blocks the conversion of alcohol to salsolinol.
This pathway is associated with various mechanisms in the brain that help individuals recovering from alcoholism.
The researchers discovered that caffeine blocks the conversion of alcohol to salsolinol – a chemical that triggers the release of dopamine. This makes drinking alcohol less pleasurable and reduces the desire to continue consuming it.
Moreover, caffeine also has an inhibitory effect on dopamine, not just counteracting the effects of alcohol. It directly interferes with how the brain identifies and responds to salsolinol and morphine. Morphine is also addictive, and the researchers suggest that this makes caffeine a promising option for preventing addiction in general.
Neuroscientist Riccardo Maccioni, one of the authors of the study, noted that among the medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating alcoholism, there is a drug containing the μ receptor antagonist naltrexone, which can block the effects of alcohol by interfering with dopamine transmission.
Caffeine works similarly to this medication, activating the μ receptor switch in the brain. This enhances the potential for utilizing caffeine in addiction treatment, although the path to developing a finished drug still requires many more steps.
Moving forward, the research team plans to test on other animals to verify the results and monitor how these effects change over a longer period.
Professor Maccioni expressed his delight in observing the effects of caffeine on the subjects (in the experiment) that had become dependent on alcohol and aims to determine whether this research could lead to potential treatment methods for alcohol use disorders.
