The researchers focused on an area of the brain that plays a central role in development
It's like a factory reset of the brain. The method potentially helps to get rid of the predisposition, which can be traced back to adolescence.
The study was carried out by scientists from the UniversityIllinois in Chicago: It builds on previous work where the authors studied how drinking during adolescence can change brain chemistry and have long-term effects on brain activity. Previously, scientists have found that heavy drinking at an early age reduces the expression of a gene in the amygdala, an area of the brain that is a key center for regulating emotions.
Scientists have found that one of the long-termThe consequences of reducing the activity of this gene was an increased susceptibility to anxiety and alcohol use disorders in adulthood. For their new study, the scientists sought to see if these effects could be corrected with state-of-the-art genome editing techniques, CRISPR-d Cas9.
The experiments were carried out on rats that were "hooked" on alcohol during the period of adulthood, corresponding to the human age of 10-18 years.As expected, they later showed increased anxiety and were less willing to explore unfamiliar objects.If such rodents were offered a choice of containers with clean water, sweetened or with the addition of alcohol, then they often gravitated to alcohol.
But after therapy with a new genetic system, the work of the Arc gene in their brain returned to normal, and then their behavior “corrected”. Animals no longer showed such anxiety and cravings for alcohol.
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