Researchers at Texas A&M University announced on Mar. 30 that they have identified a direct brain pathway that links stress to addiction-related behaviors, providing new insight into how stressful moments can drive people toward habits like drinking. The study, led by Dr. Jun Wang from the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics in the Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, was published in eLife.
The findings are significant because they help explain why stress often leads to unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol use and relapse during recovery from alcohol use disorder. By identifying this pathway, scientists may be able to develop new treatments aimed at building resilience against addiction or relapse.
The research team found a direct connection between the brain's stress centers—the central amygdala (CeA) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST)—and the region responsible for habits and decision-making, known as the dorsal striatum. "What we've identified is a direct line of communication between the brain's stress centers and the region that governs habits and actions, a connection that wasn't previously understood well," Wang said. "Seeing stress signals travel straight into this decision‑making system gives us a clearer picture of why stressful experiences can so strongly influence behavior, sometimes in ways that become unhealthy."
These stress centers communicate using corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which is released during challenging situations to help coordinate responses in body and brain. The study revealed that CRF-sending cells directly signal cholinergic interneurons (CINs) within the dorsal striatum—cells described as traffic controllers for flexible behavior versus automatic habits.
Under normal conditions, CRF helps these CINs stay active and release acetylcholine—a chemical supporting learning and decision-making—helping individuals pause, think, and make better decisions during stressful times. "Under normal conditions, this stress signal actually helps the brain stay flexible, not rigid," Wang said.
However, when alcohol was introduced during early withdrawal stages in laboratory experiments, it weakened CRF’s ability to activate these neurons while also slowing their activity overall. This disruption appears to block adaptive responses under stress: "Alcohol essentially cuts the line of communication," Wang said. "When that happens, the brain loses some of its ability to respond to stress in a healthy way. This may push a person toward automatic or habitual behaviors like drinking."
Wang added that understanding where this system breaks down could lead researchers toward therapies targeting specific cells or receptors involved in habit formation under emotional strain: "This pathway may be a promising target for helping people build resilience against addiction or relapse," he said.
The research was sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
