Date: December 30, 2024
Source: Weill Cornell Medicine
Summary: The hormone estrogen regulates binge drinking in females, causing them to ‘pregame’ — consume large quantities of alcohol in the first 30 minutes after it’s offered, according to a preclinical study. The study establishes — for what is thought to be the first time — that circulating estrogen increases binge alcohol consumption in females and contributes to known sex differences in this behavior.
The hormone estrogen regulates binge drinking in females, causing them to “pregame” — consume large quantities of alcohol in the first 30 minutes after it’s offered, according to a preclinical study led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The study establishes-for what is thought to be the first time-that circulating estrogen increases binge alcohol consumption in females and contributes to known sex differences in this behavior.
The findings, published Dec. 30 in the journal Nature Communications, could lead to novel approaches for treating alcohol use disorder.
“We know a lot less about what drives alcohol drinking behavior in females because most studies of alcohol use have been done in males,” said senior author Dr. Kristen Pleil, an associate professor of pharmacology. Yet females, too, overindulge and are more susceptible to the negative health effects of alcohol than males.
Recent studies indicate that, during the pandemic lockdown, women increased their heavy alcohol consumption more than men. That behavior has important consequences for women’s health, said Dr. Pleil, “because many studies show this pattern of drinking enhances alcohol’s harmful effects.” Indeed, women had many more alcohol-related hospital visits and complications than men during and since the pandemic.
Peak Levels of Estrogen Associated with Increased Alcohol Consumption
In a 2021 study, Dr. Pleil and her team showed that a specific subpopulation of neurons in a brain region called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) were more excitable in female mice than in males. This enhanced activity correlated with their binge drinking behavior.
But what makes this neural circuit more excitable in females? “Estrogen has such powerful effects on so many behaviors, particularly in females,” Dr. Pleil said. “So, it makes sense that it would also modulate drinking.”
To assess estrogen’s potential involvement, the researchers, including first author Dr. Lia Zallar, who was a graduate student in the Pleil lab at the time of the research, began by monitoring the hormone levels throughout estrous cycle of female mice. Then, they served up the alcohol. They found that when a female has a high level of circulating estrogen, she drinks much more than on days when her estrogen is low.