ALCOHOLISM AT LARGE

A brain circuit that underlies feelings of stress and anxiety--and its connection to alcoholism--is being studied by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIAAA Clinical Director Markus Heilig, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues found that a brain molecule known as the neurokinin 1 receptor, or NK1R, appears to be a central actor in stress-related drinking.