Anxious Animals Prefer Alcohol

Rats bred to have a preference for alcohol were more anxious than normal rats and had lower levels of a brain protein linked to emotion, fear, and anxiety, DeHavilland Information Services reported Oct. 4.

The so-called "P" rats had lower levels of the CREB protein in their brain; when they drank alcohol, their CREB levels rose and their anxiety eased. No similar effect was seen in the non-P rats.

When scientists chemically stimulated CREB, anxiety and alcohol intake decreased among P rats. When they blocked CREB in non-P rats, they became more anxious and consumed more alcohol.

"This is the first direct evidence that a hereditary deficiency of CREB protein ... is associated with high anxiety and alcohol-drinking behaviors," said study author Subhash Pandey, director of neuroscience alcoholism research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

Researchers said the findings could point the way toward new treatments for anxiety and alcoholism, and Ting-Kai Li, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, agreed.

"These experiments ... help us address questions about the potential role that anxiety might play in human alcoholism," said Li.