Do genetic factors influence alcohol sensitivity and addiction risk?

Friday, June 7, 2024.

Some people’s brains respond quite differently to alcohol.

New research suggests that folks who are more sensitive to alcohol’s pleasurable effects are more likely to become alcoholics.

A 10-year study of young adult drinkers found that future alcoholics experience greater stimulation, liking, and wanting for alcohol than others.

People who go on to become addicted to alcohol do not get used to its effects, as most people do. Instead, they develop a stronger positive response as their drinking continues. Additionally, while most people find that alcohol has a sedative effect, this minority finds that it does not put them to sleep.

Professor Andrea King, the study’s first author, explained:

“These pleasurable alcohol effects grow in intensity over time and do not dissipate in people progressing in excessive drinking. This tells us that having a higher sensitivity to the rewarding effects of alcohol in the brain puts such individuals at higher risk for developing addiction. It all fits a picture of persistent pleasure-seeking that increases the likelihood of habitual excessive drinking over time.

Alcoholics were thought to need to drink more to finally get their desired effect when they drink, but these well-controlled data do not support that contention. They get the desirable alcohol effect early in the drinking bout, and that seems to fuel wanting more alcohol.”

How the Study Was Conducted

The conclusions come from a study of 190 young adults who were followed for 10 years. The results showed that those who were most sensitive to the euphoric effects of alcohol were more likely to become addicted later on.

These findings challenge the established idea about alcoholism, suggesting that alcoholics do not like drinking but cannot stop. Instead, the study supports a different theory called incentive-sensitization.

Professor King uses the findings of the study to help inform her clients:

“I’m already using this information to inform how I talk about addiction with my therapy clients. It can be frustrating for them to see other people who can have a couple of drinks and just stop there.

They can’t understand why they repeatedly seem unable to do that, too, and I tell them, it may be because your brain responds differently to alcohol that makes it harder to stop drinking once you start.

Knowing that information can empower a person to make different decisions.

Even with our current pandemic, a person may drink to cope with stress or reduce negative feelings, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t also experience the buzz or pleasurable effects from drinking.

This is most concerning for at-risk drinkers as those responses may intensify as they progress with heavier drinking.”

Final thoughts

This research has confirmed a hunch I’ve had for sometime. Some of my clients have a particular relationship to alcohol.

How can genetic testing be utilized to identify folks who may be more sensitive to alcohol's pleasurable effects and at a higher risk for developing alcoholism?

Are there specific interventions or treatments that can be tailored based on these genetic factors to help prevent or manage alcohol addiction more effectively? How can we best apply this research to inform and protect marriages and families?

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.