We all have our vices, but sometimes those vices can get the better of us where it might actually affect our lives and the lives of others around us, such as being an alcoholic. There are some who have successfully overcome their addiction to alcohol, but there are others who keep relapsing, suggesting that the recovery methods out there today might not be 100% effective.However, according to scientists at Scripps Research, it seems that they might have found a solution. This is through the firing of a laser into the brain where the laser will blast certain neurons that will help reverse the person’s dependency on alcohol. However there is a big catch: they have only successfully tested this out on rats, meaning that whether or not it will work for human being remains to be seen.
At the same time ,it does show promise and it is a good reason to be excited about it. Speaking to Digital Trends, Scripps professor Olivier George said, “What is so exciting about these findings is that we were able to control the motivation to drink alcohol in severely dependent individuals with the flip of a switch. By implanting fiber optics deep in the brain and turning on a laser that inhibits these neurons specifically we could dramatically decrease alcohol drinking and the physical symptoms of withdrawal.”
Unfortunately, as promising as it might be, it seems that it might be a long time before we see its use in humans. According to George, this is due to the use of cutting-edge technologies that have yet to be approved for humans, and that it could probably take 15-30 years before we even see it implemented, if at all.