Brain chemicals make alcohol unpalatable to women
Neuropeptide protein makes alcohol bitter for women, researchers find.Researchers at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne have found that one of the proteins used to transmit signals in the brain affects women's perception of the taste of alcohol. The discovery explains sex differences in alcohol consumption and will help in the treatment of alcohol dependence in women.
The scientists studied the neuropeptide protein CART system, which is involved in a number of physiological and pathophysiological functions. For example, it influences the maintenance of energy balance, the development of depression, anxiety and reward-motivated behavior, including alcohol consumption.
Experiments were conducted on male and female mice, some of which had the gene regulating CART production turned off. During the 10-week study, containers of ethanol and water were placed in the animals' feeder. The scientists measured the daily intake of each of the liquids.
The analysis showed that female mice in which the CART system was turned off began to consume less alcohol, preferring to drink water. Simultaneously, if sugar was added to ethanol, the females started drinking more.
"Alcohol has a bitter taste. When we inhibited CART in male mice, their alcohol consumption increased. And when we removed the same brain chemical in females, they drank less. But when the alcohol was sweetened, the females drank more. This tells us that without CART, alcohol is unpalatable to females," Lee Walker, co-author of the study.
The scientists showed that the changes in alcohol consumption were not related to the amount of male and female sex hormones in the animals' blood. It depended on the functioning of the central nucleus of the brain's amygdaloid body, which is controlled by a neuropeptide protein. The results explain why women prefer sweet alcohol and opens up the possibility of treating alcohol dependence by enhancing bitter taste by regulating the amount of protein.