A New Study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Examines the Relationship Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Alcohol Consumption
Head injuries, which often damage brain regions that overlap those involved in addictive behaviors, do not worsen drinking behavior in alcoholics, according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. The study, conducted by Dr. Andrew Mayer of the Mind Research Network and the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, New Mexico, also showed that the combination of a head injury with high consumption of alcohol did not further alter brain structure or function.
"People who consume too much alcohol are prone to more accidents due to their intoxication," Dr. Mayer said. Importantly, he added, excessive consumption of alcohol and traumatic brain injury (TBI) affect similar regions of the brain. This has led researchers to believe that the frequent combination of head trauma and excessive alcohol consumption can interact to aggravate brain damage already caused by chronic exposure to alcohol.
The study compared people with recent history of high alcohol consumption and TBI with a carefully matched control group on the history of alcohol exposure. during the course of life. Mayer and his colleagues found the opposite of what they expected: heavy drinkers with a history of TBI did not have a worse drinking behavior, such as frequency and quantity alcohol, compared to drinkers with no history of CBT.
Researchers also used imaging techniques to measure brain structure and activity when participants had a taste of their favorite drink. "On average, the brains of both groups were similar both in terms of the amount of tissue lost and how each person's brain responded to their favorite beverage," said Dr. Mayer, suggesting that TBI does not help. 39, does not damage the brain circuits. among heavy drinkers.
"The finding that participants with TBI did not have greater neurocircuit dysfunction than those without TBI could result in greater therapeutic optimism for the treatment of individuals with a combination of TBI and TBI. history of excessive consumption ". of biological psychiatry: cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging.
Source:
https://www.elsevier.com/
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