If relationship setbacks make you reach for the bottle, you're not alone. Researchers have found that fruit flies rejected by potential mates are more likely to drink alcohol than their more sexually successful counterparts.
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have found that molecular changes in the flies' brains caused by social interactions affect their subsequent behaviour, as seen in the video above.
The discovery sheds light on what occurs in the brain in terms of rewards attached to social interactions and could have implications in how we treat human addictions, the researchers said.
In humans, neuropeptide Y, a molecule similar to the one discovered in fruit flies, is thought to connect social triggers, such as rejection, to behaviours such as excessive drinking and drug abuse.
Altering the amounts of neuropeptide Y in the brain could have a positive result in treating addictive behaviours.
"If neuropeptide Y turns out to be the transducer between the state of the psyche and the drive to abuse alcohol and drugs, one could develop therapies to inhibit neuropeptide Y receptors," said Dr Ulrike Heberlein, professor of anatomy and neurology at UCSF, who led the research.
The next step is for scientists to test whether changing neuropeptide Y levels can be used to treat anxiety disorders and obesity.
Related article: How to get over a break-up
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