A study in rats suggests that a hereditary deficiency of a specific brain protein may be linked to alcoholism and anxiety.Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that rats bred to crave alcohol had lower levels of the protein, called cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), and another brain protein, called neuropeptide Y, in certain areas of their amygdala -- a part of the brain associated with emotion, fear and anxiety -- compared to nonalcoholic rats.The two proteins appear to be connected: When CREB is activated it regulates production of neuropeptide Y, the researchers explained in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
