'Love' chemical oxytocin linked to drastic reduction in alcohol abuse

• The study was done by University of Sydney and Regensburg scientists
• It found rats who were fed both alcohol and oxytocin were less drunk
• The hormone prevents alcohol from getting into the areas of the brain that triggers alcohol's drunken effects
• Findings could be used to make new treatments for alcohol addiction

By Louise Cheer for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 23:50 EST, 23 February 2015 | Updated: 04:43 EST, 24 February 2015

The 'love' hormone could be key to reducing the effects of alcohol consumption, according to a new study.

Oxytocin, also known as the 'cuddle' hormone, was given to rats by researchers from the University of Sydney and Germany's University of Regensburg, and they found this had a sobering effect on those that also had alcohol.

The new findings were published in scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.

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The 'love' hormone could be key to reducing the effects of alcohol consumption, according to a new study

Researchers gave rats oxytocin and then fed them alcohol. They found the hormone reduced their drunken behaviour

Lead author of the study Michael Bowen said scientists first infused oxytocin into the rats' brains before they were fed alcohol.

'In the rat equivalent of a sobriety test, the rats given alcohol and oxytocin passed with flying colours, while those given alcohol without oxytocin were seriously impaired,' Dr Bowen, who works at the University of Sydney's School of Psychology, said.

Researchers found oxytocin prevents alcohol from getting into the areas of the brain that trigger drunken behaviour. These areas are known as the delta-subunit GABA-A receptors.

'Alcohol impairs your co-ordination by inhibiting the activity of brain regions that provide fine motor control,' Dr Bowen said.

It appeared the oxytocin prevented alcohol from affecting areas of the brain called the delta-subunit GABA-A receptors

'Oxytocin prevents this effect to the point where we can't tell from their behaviour that the rats are actually drunk. It's a truly remarkable effect.'

Lead author on the study is Dr Michael Bowen, from the University of Sydney

The sobering effect of oxytocin is yet to be tested on humans but researchers are already planning to carry out these studies in the near future.

'The first step will be to ensure we have a method of drug delivery for humans that allows sufficient amounts of oxytocin to reach the brain,' Dr Bowen said.

'If we can do that, we suspect that oxytocin could also leave speech and cognition much less impaired after relatively high levels of alcohol consumption.'

But Dr Bowen warned this new research did not mean people could drink and drive with oxytocin in their system.

'While oxytocin might reduce your level of intoxication, it won't actually change your blood alcohol level,' he said.

'This is because the oxytocin is preventing the alcohol from accessing the sites in the brain that make you intoxicated, it is not causing the alcohol to leave your system any faster.'

Research performed by the Dr Bowen and his colleagues, along with other studies, have also found taking the 'love' or 'cuddle' hormone could reduce alcohol intake and cravings in both rats and humans.

These findings involving the 'cuddle' hormone could help develop oxytocin-based treatments for alcohol addiction

'We believe that the effects of oxytocin on alcohol consumption and craving act through a similar mechanism in the brain to the one identified in our research,' Dr Bowen said.

Their findings could see the development of new oxytocin-based treatments for alcohol addiction that target this mechanism.