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Found a link between fear and alcohol addiction

13.12.2022

Studying the features of remembering terrible events, scientists from Linkoping University have identified an enzyme that affects anxiety and addiction to alcohol.

Certain areas of the brain are especially important for processing fear-related memories. For example, the amygdala, which is activated in case of danger and cooperates with the prefrontal cortex. All of them start the process of regulating emotions.

"We know that the network of nerve cells connecting the frontal lobes to the amygdala is involved in fear responses. The connections between these brain structures change in people with post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders," said Estelle Barbier, study leader and associate professor at the Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience (CSAN) and the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV) at the University of Linköping.

However, the molecular mechanisms involved remained unknown for a long time. In the new study, the scientists found and analyzed the PRDM2 protein, an epigenetic enzyme that represses the expression of many genes. PRDM2 levels have been found to decrease in alcohol dependence, leading to exaggerated stress responses.

Very often, alcohol addiction and anxiety conditions coexist with each other, and researchers have long suspected that the same phenomenon underlay these conditions.

"We have identified a mechanism by which increased activity in the network between the frontal lobes and the amygdala increases learned fear responses. And we have shown that suppression of PRDM2 increases the consolidation of fear-related memories," says Estelle Barbier.

The team of scientists was also able to identify genes that affect the reduction of PRDM2 levels. According to them, this leads to an increase in the activity of nerve cells connecting the frontal lobes and the amygdala.

Patients with anxiety disorders may benefit from treatment that reduces or erases memories of fear. The biological mechanism we have identified involves downregulation of PRDM2, and we currently have no way to increase this. But this mechanism may be part of the explanation for why some people are more vulnerable to developing anxiety-related conditions. It may also explain why these conditions and alcohol addiction are so often found together.

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