Scientists discover way to reverse alcoholism by firing lasers at brain

Scientists may have discovered a technique to reverse the desire to drink alcohol in people by firing lasers at their brain – an experiment that proved successful in mice.

Scientists at Scripps Research claim to have found a way to reverse rats’ dependent on alcohol by blasting specific neurons in their brains with laser beams, something they compared to the ‘flip of a switch’.

“What is so exciting about these findings is that we were able to control the motivation to drink alcohol in severely dependent individuals with the flip of a switch,” researcher Olivier George, told Digital Trends. “By implanting fiber optics deep in the brain and turning on a laser that inhibits these neurons specifically we could dramatically decrease alcohol drinking and the physical symptoms of withdrawal.”

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George explained that the technique identifies a particular neuronal population in a deep region of the brain that is activated during alcohol withdrawal and which controls alcohol drinking in a rodent model of alcoholism.

In the experiment, rats with an alcohol dependency experience their symptoms of addiction disappearing when the lasers were used to inactivate the CRF neurons. Not only did this reverse their desire to drink, but also reduced the physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawal such as extreme shaking. However, turning off the lasers lead to the addiction symptoms return immediately.

Though the technique proved successful in mice, scientists mentioned that it could still take decades until the technology is ready to be tested on people, according to Futurism.

“This work requires the use of cutting-edge technologies that are not approved to be used in humans yet so it may take 15 to 30 years before we see alcoholics with brain implants that help them control their craving,” George said.