- Florey researchers have identified a brain pathway that appears to be a strong driver of binge drinking in females.
- Switching off this circuit reduced alcohol intake in female but not male mice.
- The findings add to existing evidence of biological differences in brain circuits driving binge drinking and could help guide future sex-specific strategies to treat alcohol misuse in humans.
A mouse study examining sex differences in binge drinking has uncovered new evidence that might help explain rising levels of dangerous alcohol consumption among females.
While rates of binge drinking have historically been higher among men, the gap between the sexes has narrowed because of increased rates of alcohol misuse in women.
Researchers from The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health’s Hormones and Behaviour Group have been investigating the role of the brain in binge drinking and whether the neural circuits driving binge drinking differ between the sexes.
In their latest study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, they measured activity across 40 brain regions in male and female mice under the following conditions:
- Alcohol naive — no alcohol exposure
- Alcohol anticipating — expecting alcohol, but receiving water
- Binge drinking — voluntary access to alcohol for limited periods of time
While mice and humans have many differences, the fundamental brain mechanisms that underlie behaviours such as alcohol craving are shared across species.
Led by Dr Leigh Walker, the team found a striking difference in female mice in an area of the brain involved in emotion and motivation, known as the basolateral amygdala (BLA).
“The study found that the pathway connecting the BLA to another part of the brain associated with reward – the nucleus accumbens core – was activated more strongly and for longer in the female mice in the binge drinking group,” Dr Walker said.
“When we switched off this emotion-reward circuit in both sexes, only the female mice reduced their alcohol intake. This was specific to alcohol, not all rewards, with no differences seen between sexes drinking a sugary drink. This suggests this pathway is a particularly important driver of binge drinking in females.”
Lead author of the study, Dr Xavier Maddern, said the findings support the idea that male and female brains might partly rely on distinct pathways for alcohol-related behaviours.
“We know that women are more vulnerable to alcohol-related health problems and that they are more likely to consume alcohol to cope, but our understanding of the specific neurobiological factors driving this remains limited.
“Our research provides new insights which in future could help guide more nuanced sex-specific treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) that is both effective and tailored. Binge drinking is a major risk factor for AUD, which affects millions of people worldwide.”
In March 2025, the research group published another study which identified the hunger hormone ghrelin as a driver alcohol consumption, especially in females.
Both projects were partly funded with grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council and a University of Melbourne Early Career Project Grant. The research was received support from the Victorian State Government’s Operational Infrastructure Scheme.
