S.O.T.T: The taste of beer, even without any effect from alcohol, triggers a key reward chemical in the brain, according to a study on Monday that explores how people become hooked on booze. Neurologists at the University of Indiana asked 49 men to drink either their favourite beer or Gatorade, a non-alcoholic sports drink, while their brains were scanned by positron emission tomography (PET). The goal was to look at dopamine, a chemical in a part of the brain called the ventral striatum that gives the sensation of reward. The beer was rationed out in tiny amounts - just 15 millilitres, or about one tablespoon, every 15 minutes - so that the brain could be scanned without the influence of alcohol. Just a taste of the beer lit up dopamine receptors, and the effect was far greater than for Gatorade, even though many volunteers said they prefered the taste of the soda, the investigators found.
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