When a heavy alcohol drinker tries to take a night off, their body protests with shaky hands, heart palpitations, anxiety and headaches. These acute symptoms of alcohol withdrawal—but even more so the enduring emotional distress that lingers into protracted abstinence—are one reason people with alcohol use disorders have a hard time quitting. Now, scientists at Scripps Research have made new headway in understanding the basis of alcohol withdrawal in the brain.
Scientists hunt for neurons responsible for alcohol withdrawal
When a heavy alcohol drinker tries to take a night off, their body protests with shaky hands, heart palpitations, anxiety and headaches. These acute symptoms of alcohol withdrawal—but even more so the enduring emotional distress that lingers into protracted abstinence—are one reason people with alcohol use disorders have a hard time quitting. Now, scientists at Scripps Research have made new headway in understanding the basis of alcohol withdrawal in the brain.