The Gut-Brain Connection: How Appetite Peptides Drive Alcohol Use Disorders

The overall aim is to outline the mechanisms underlying alcohol use disorder (AUD) and thereby enable novel treatments. AUD strongly contribute to morbidity and mortality and have a devastating impact on society. As the efficacy of available treatments is poor, novel treatments are needed. My team recently identified the gut-brain axis as a promising treatment target.

In the proposed project, I will lead a team of postdocs, PhD students, technicians, and master students to further unravel the role of the gut-brain axis in AUD.

Specifically, we will use behavioral and neurochemical models to assess the impact of gut-brain peptides, alone or together, on alcohol-related responses in rats and mice. Key aspects will also be tested in humans. Molecular and electrophysiological methods will pinpoint neural circuits important for AUD.

Furthermore, we aim to identify common and specific aspects of how the gut-brain axis interacts with addiction across sexes.

As an alternative to pharmacological treatment, the impact of ketone salt on gut-brain peptides and the subsequent alcohol drinking will be assessed in rodents. Moreover, association between endogenous levels of gut-brain peptides in humans and AUD will be determined. This provides insight into the gut-brain axis pathophysiology of AUD.

The planned preclinical and clinical projects will provide a detailed insight into the gut-brain axis and thereby has the potential of identifying novel pharmacological treatment targets for AUD.