Single alcohol dose can 'alter' brain cells

Berlin, September 15

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Even a single exposure to alcohol can permanently change the shape of nerve cells and lead to addiction, according to a study conducted in animals.

Neurons or nerve cells are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world. Researchers found that alcohol affects the structure of the synapses as well as the dynamics of the mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses.

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Synapses are the points of contact between neurons, where information is passed from one neuron to the next.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used the genetic model system of the fruit fly.

It shows that alterations in the migration of mitochondria in the synapses lessen the rewarding effect of alcohol, researchers said.

These findings imply that even a single drinking incident might lay the foundation for alcohol addiction, they said. A majority of studies have focused on the consequences of chronic alcohol drinking on the hippocampus, our brain’s control centre.

“We set out to discover ethanol-dependent molecular changes. These, in turn, provide the basis for permanent cellular changes following a single acute ethanol intoxication,” said Henrike Scholz from the University of Cologne in Germany. “The effects of a single alcohol administration were examined at the molecular, cellular, and behavioural levels,” Scholz said. Researchers used fruit flies and mouse models to find ethanol-induced alterations in two areas — mitochondrial dynamics and the balance between synapses in neurons. — PTI

Can lead to addiction

We set out to discover ethanol-dependent molecular changes. These, in turn, provide the basis for permanent cellular changes following a single acute ethanol intoxication. — Henrike Scholz, University of Cologne in Germany