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Love hormone oxytocin may reduce the intoxicating effects of alcohol on your brain, a new study has found.
Oxytocin has a legendary status in popular culture due to its vital role in social and sexual behaviour and long-term bonding. Now researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Regensburg have discovered it also has a remarkable influence on the intoxicating effect of alcohol.
When the researchers infused oxytocin into the brains of rats which were then given alcohol it prevented the drunken lack of coordination caused by the 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," said Dr Michael Bowen, from the University of Sydney's School of Psychology and lead author on the study.
Researchers demonstrated that oxytocin prevents alcohol from accessing specific sites in the brain that cause alcohol's intoxicating effects, sites known as delta-subunit GABA-A receptors. "Alcohol impairs your coordination by inhibiting the activity of brain regions that provide fine motor control.
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," Bowen said. This 'sobering-up' effect of oxytocin has yet to be shown in humans but the researchers plan to conduct 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. 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," Bowen said. "While oxytocin might reduce your level of intoxication, it won't actually change your blood alcohol level," Bowen
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," said Bowen.The research was published in the journal PNAS