Alcoholism can have drastic effects on a human being both psychologically and physically, but what if someone told you stopping is as easy as turning off a switch. If you have been unsuccessfully trying to quit drinking for quite sometime now, a study has found an easy way of getting rid of the urge once and for all.
Researchers have figured out that simply switching off a network of alcohol-linked neurons can help you say good bye to compulsive drinking. The finding came from a study on animal models led by The Scripps Research Institute.
The study indicates that frequent drinking can activate certain groups of neurons and the more you drink the more the activity of the particular neuronal circuit will be, and it triggers an addiction beyond a point.
A lead researcher Olivier George said, "We can completely reverse alcohol dependence by targeting a network of neurons." They tried to observe if they can influence specific neurons, which are only five percent in rats and humans.
The test conducted on rats involved injecting them with a compound that can inactivate those neurons and saw them completely give up their urge to consume alcohol.
George mentioned that the rats even seemed immune from negative effects of withdrawal like shaking, he said, "It's like they forgot they were dependent."
