Beer Brain Study: Brew Taste Alone can Trigger Release of Pleasure Chemical Dopamine, Possible Connection to Alcoholism? [READ FULL STUDY]

The taste of beer alone, regardless of alcohol content, triggers the release of pleasure chemical in the brain, according to a study that was released on Monday.

The study showed that the taste of beer, even in small quantities, triggers the release of the pleasure chemical, dopamine, in the brain and causes the drinker to want more.  The reaction centers that are affected are the same ones that are most often associated with addiction and cravings.

In the study, researchers gave a group of 45 male volunteers 15 milliliters of their favorite beer to sip over the course of 15 minutes, in order to avoid blood alcohol increases, and they studied each brain's reaction.  They studied the brain using "Positron Emission Tomography, [using] the radiation emitted by a radioactive chemical to produce a 3D image of the brain," according to FoxNews. 

This observation showed that each brain began to release a considerable amount of dopamine, despite the small quantity of beer that was being consumed. 

The researchers also found that the brain did not elicit this same chemical response when the men drank other kinds of drinks, such as Gatorade or water.  Although the researchers did not test the reaction to non-alcoholic beer, previous studies have suggested that drinking non-alcoholic beer can risk a relapse for some alcoholics.

David Kareken, of Indiana University is the lead author of this study.  He says that the taste of beer can act as a stimulus that is conditioned to create a certain response.

"As certain sensory cues become associated [with getting drunk], the dopamine release moves away from the reward and happens with the stimulus," he told US News.

The results of this study seem to suggest that even just a small sip of beer can affect the brain in a way that induces an interest in drinking more in order to continue to experience pleasurable feelings.

"Just a little taste is sufficient to increase people's desire to drink," Kareken told US News.

In addition, this effect tended to be greater for men with alcoholism in their family.

"Given that subjects who had a family history of alcoholism had the strongest dopamine response, the findings suggest that even the taste of beer can provoke the urge to become intoxicated," he told US News.

However, Peter Anderson, a professor of substance use policy and practice at New Castle University in the U.K. told FoxNews, "With regard to the family history effect, this is quite difficult to assess and know what it means so we can't be too sure of an effect or how strong it might be."

This study may prove helpful in learning more about some cases of alcohol abuse.

"What we showed is you don't need intoxication from alcohol to produce the release of dopamine," Kareken told US News. "The taste alone is enough."

Additional details are available through the study itself from the online journal Neuropsychopharmacology.