Groundbreaking PET/CT study finds specific brain receptor linked to alcohol addiction

Alcoholism is a disorder that oftentimes leads to a continuous cycle of abuse. However, a new study revealed that using PET/CT to understand the connection between the mGluR5 brain receptor associated with reward and pleasure and the compulsion to drink may be the solution to long-term sobriety.

“This research is the first to provide direct in vivo evidence that mGluR5 is involved in the pathophysiology of alcohol addiction,” Dr. Gil Leurquin-Sterk, first author of the study and physician at the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium, told HCB News. “Before this development, direct human evidence of its involvement in addiction was lacking and only suggested by animal models.” Read more.