Beer’s taste, without any effect from alcohol, can trigger the production of dopamine in the brain, the study by researchers from Indiana University found.
People with a family history of alcoholism also showed even higher levels of dopamine — a neuro-transmitter associated with the brain’s reward and pleasure centres.
Dr David Kareken, deputy director of the Indiana Alcohol Research Centre, said: “We believe this is the first experiment in humans to show that the taste of an alcoholic drink alone, without any intoxicating effect from the alcohol, can elicit this dopamine activity in the brain’s reward centres.”
The stronger effect in people with close relatives who are alcoholics may suggest that the risk of alcoholism could be inherited, he said.
The study scanned the brains of 49 men after drinking beer and tasting Gatorade, a sports drink. It was published in the Neuropsycho-pharmacology journal. Results showed significantly more dopamine activity following the taste of beer than Gatorade.
Source: Daniel Johnson, Irish Examiner, 16/04/13
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