Alcohol publicity earlier than start could quietly set the mind on a path towards dangerous ingesting a long time later.
A brand new examine printed at this time (February 2) in JNeurosci examines how publicity to alcohol and stress earlier than start can affect mind perform and ingesting conduct later in life. Led by Mary Schneider and Alexander Converse on the College of Wisconsin-Madison, the interdisciplinary analysis targeted on rhesus monkeys to higher perceive how prenatal experiences could go away lasting results into maturity.
Learning Alcohol, Stress, and the Dopamine System
Throughout being pregnant, rhesus monkeys have been uncovered to considered one of three situations. Some consumed reasonable quantities of alcohol, others skilled gentle stress, and a 3rd group was uncovered to each. When the offspring reached maturity, researchers evaluated their mind chemistry, with an in depth take a look at the dopamine system, as well as how they consumed alcohol.
The results showed that both prenatal alcohol exposure and prenatal stress altered the dopamine system in adult offspring. Monkeys exposed to alcohol before birth also consumed alcohol more quickly as adults. Importantly, measurements of the dopamine system taken before the animals ever drank alcohol were able to predict how they would drink later on. This pattern mirrors findings from human research on alcohol use disorder and suggests that certain brain differences may be present even before problem drinking begins.
Brain Changes That Evolve With Drinking
As the monkeys continued to drink alcohol, researchers observed further changes in the dopamine system. These changes influenced how much alcohol each animal consumed and differed from one individual to another. The researchers propose that these personalized brain responses to alcohol may help explain how casual drinking can progress into alcohol use disorder in some individuals but not others.
Implications for Pregnancy and Human Health
According to the research team, the findings add to evidence that drinking during pregnancy can have long-term consequences by linking prenatal alcohol exposure to unhealthy drinking patterns later in life. Although the study did not find a direct connection between prenatal stress and adult drinking behavior, the authors note that prenatal stress could still affect other aspects of behavior.
The researchers also emphasize that their experimental design closely reflects how prenatal stress and alcohol exposure occur in humans. This similarity strengthens the clinical relevance of the findings and helps bridge the gap between animal research and human health.
Reference: “Prenatal Stress and Prenatal Alcohol Alter the Adult Dopamine System and Alcohol Consumption: Dopamine Drives Drinking Behavior in a Prospective Twenty-Year Longitudinal Experiment with Rhesus Macaques” 2 February 2026, JNeurosci.
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0717-25.2026
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