Does Being Alone Change How Much We Drink?
Researchers found isolation overactivates a brain pathway that increased drinking in male mice and reduced it in females over two weeks.
- On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, a Northwestern University study published in Nature Neuroscience revealed that social isolation increases alcohol consumption in male mice while suppressing it in females.
- Isolation activates specific neurons in the basolateral amygdala that project to the medial prefrontal cortex, a pathway that became significantly more excitable in isolated males and less excitable in females.
- Using optogenetics to manipulate this circuit, researchers artificially activated the pathway in non-isolated male mice, causing them to increase their intake of a 15% alcohol solution as if isolated.
- "A defined pathway becomes overactive during isolation and directly increases drinking," said Reesha Patel, study first author at Northwestern University Feinberg School, noting males and females rely on different neural strategies.
- Alcohol use disorder affects an estimated 7 per cent of the global population over age 15 according to the World Health Organisation; Patel plans to explore whether hormones contribute to these sex differences.
63 Articles
63 Articles
Men cope with loneliness in a strikingly different way to women
It’s Friday night. The weekend is here. Yet once again, nobody has called to ask you out. You have no plans. It’s just you, Netflix, and a bottle of gin.Continue ReadingCategory: Diet & Nutrition, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & HealthTags: Alcohol, Social isolation, Mice, Brain, Addiction, Loneliness, Northwestern University
Loneliness changes the attitude towards alcohol - at least in mice. Isolated males develop a distinct preference, females react exactly the other way around. The findings could help to better understand alcoholism in humans.
Social Isolation: When Joy Fades, Alcohol Calls
Researchers have identified a neural mechanism that drives mammals toward alcohol consumption during periods of social stress. A laboratory study using mice indicates that social isolation activates a connection between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, which suppresses interest in natural rewards and increases the craving for alcohol. Experimental Design and Data Collection The study utilized a mouse model to observe the effects of isolat…
The Economic Times
Times of IndiaCircuit in male brain increases alcohol use during social isolation: Study
Recent research sheds light on how loneliness affects alcohol consumption through specific brain mechanisms. The study revealed that isolated male mice exhibited a higher alcohol intake, while female mice notably decreased theirs. This crucial brain pathway integrates emotional processing with decision-making areas, actively influencing drinking behaviors in males. These insights provide potential biological targets for addressing alcohol misuse…
If male mice are isolated, they drink alcohol rather than water: this is shown by an experiment from the USA. Females react differently to loneliness.
An investigation in mice identifies a brain circuit that is overactive with social isolation and favors the consumption of alcohol in males, but not in females Read
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