Scientists have discovered why it's impossible to stop at 'just one drink'

For a while there, we assumed that our penchant for letting "just one drink" transform into a night on the town was simply a reflection of will power—or, more accurately, a lack thereof.

Well, it turns out we were only partially on the mark, as scientists now claim these lapses in will power that ultimately result in us reaching for that second—or third—drink may come down to the individual wiring of our brains immediately after downing that first pint.

Researchers from Texas A&M University have discovered a population of neurons in the brain that may be responsible for influencing whether or not one drink leads to two.

Using an animal model, scientists were able to determine that alcohol consumption literally changes the structure of neurons in the part of your brain that is linked to motivation and goal-driven behaviour, activating our feel-good D1 dopamine receptors.

"If these neurons are excited, you will want to drink alcohol, you'll have a craving," Jun Wang, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at the Texas A&M College of Medicine, told Texas A&M University publication Vital Record.

In other words, when you activate your D1 "go" pathways in the brain by having a drink, your brain compels you to perform an action, such as reaching for another glass of wine. This then creates a loop effect, where drinking results in easier activation of these pleasure centres, encouraging you to chug more booze, which then further fuels the activation of these neurons, resulting in more drinking, and so on…

The team also found that regular alcohol consumption made the D1 neurons more excitable, meaning they were activated with less stimulation, which could explain many of the addictive behaviours associated with alcohol abuse.

"My ultimate goal is to understand how the addicted brain works," Wang said.

"Once we do, one day, we'll be able to suppress the craving for another round of drinks and ultimately, stop the cycle of alcoholism."

This study was published in the Journal of Nueroscience.