Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have shown that the brains of heavy drinkers process alcohol in a way that encourages substance dependence. The study found that the brains of heavy drinkers consume acetate, a molecule produced from alcohol in the liver, at twice the rate of light drinkers. While the brain typically runs on the sugar glucose, it can also use acetate for energy, which suggests that the finding has implications for understanding alcohol dependence, said senior author and professor of psychiatry Graeme Mason GRD ’91. The paper appears in the March 8 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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