For some, abstaining from alcohol can subsequently increase compulsive drinking. Our research team found that, in abstaining mice, this urge to drink is preceded by changes in the activity of a particular brain region, pointing to potential new screening opportunities to identify and help those most vulnerable to relapse.

Although alcohol abstinence is associated with improved health outcomes, addiction researchers have theorized that brain changes that occur during abstinence may increase a person’s risk of relapse.

To explore this theory, we studied how mice behaved after giving them long-term voluntary access to alcohol followed by a forced abstinence period. We found that a subset of the mice developed aversion-resistant alcohol intake – that is, they now drank alcohol despite the quinine we added to make it increasingly bitter. Moreover, compared to those who did not experience forced abstinence, these mice drank even larger quantities of the very bitter alcohol. These results suggest there are potential bodily challenges associated with abstinence........

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