A new study shows why some people may find it so hard to stop drinking when others have no problem knowing when to say “when.”

It can be hard to understand why an individual struggling with substance abuse seems unable to quit despite devastating negative consequences and a true desire to change. Now, a new study may provide some clues into that contradiction, proving scientifically that it’s not a lack of willpower but instead a chemical reaction in the brain that makes it so hard for some to just say “no.”

This latest research, published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, can help us understand what makes alcohol so addictive to some people. Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to look at the distribution of chemicals in the brains of participants, which included 13 heavy social drinkers and 12 healthy control subjects. (A heavy social drinker is categorized as a woman who consumes 10 to 16 drinks per week or a man who indulges in 14 to 20 drinks per week, while the women in the control group drank fewer than five drinks per week and the men drank less than seven.)

Researchers found some people’s brains give them more of an opioid release when they drink, leading them to perceive alcohol as more pleasurable than other people do. In the heavy drinkers who were studied, a single drink led to the release of more opioids in the orbital frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens — two regions that play a role in reward. That reward makes the individuals in that group subconsciously learn to want that rush of pleasure again — making them seek and crave alcohol in a way they’re not even aware of.

This may also explain why alcoholics who truly desire to stop drinking have so much trouble doing so. Once part of the brain learns that drinking is important, it compels the individual to continue the behavior – even despite negative consequences.

While the study can be applied to our understanding of alcoholics, it’s important to note that the heavy drinkers in the study didn’t meet the criteria for alcohol dependence. The researchers’ ultimate objective was to come up with new ways of treating alcohol addiction, according to Jennifer Mitchell, adjunct assistant professor at University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of the study.

Alcohol Addiction Help at The Canyon

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The troubled star’s most recent probation violations threatened to send her back to jail, but she only served four hours of a 30-day sentence. Is this helping?

Lindsay Lohan was released from jail earlier this week, just hours after she was booked in, authorities said. While a Los Angeles County judge ordered Lohan to serve a 30-day jail term after she admitted she violated her probation on a necklace theft conviction, jail overcrowding and the fact that she’s not a violent offender make her a low priority for incarceration. In fact, at the time she was sentenced, Los Angeles County Sheriff spokesman Steve Whitmore said it was likely Lohan could be booked in and booked out the same day. “It depends on the fluctuations of the day, what’s going on in the jail,” he explained.

Not that she’s completely out of hot water. The troubled actress must still work at least 12 days a month at the county morgue until she completes the 53 remaining days on her court-ordered community service, Judge Stephanie Sautner told her. Lohan must also attend 18 psychotherapy sessions.

This most recent trip to jail has many wondering if the system is really doing anything to deter actresses like Lohan from reoffending. Despite her community service requirements, the young star is free to work and even to party (rumor has it she stopped by a Leonardo DiCaprio fete on her way to jail last weekend). Next up is an appearance in the January/February 2012 issue of Playboy.

It’s a problem addiction experts have long been aware of. The courts and jails do little to address underlying addiction issues in offenders. It’s often all they can do to keep up with caseloads and oversee sentences. Even when treatment is a condition of release, there’s no guarantee. If an individual isn’t ready to get clean, they can’t be forced to do it. Recovery from drug addiction or alcohol addiction are hard work and require a lifelong commitment to sobriety.

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Coeds are going to dangerous — possibly deadly — lengths to cut calories and still party.

Dieting and calorie cutting is at an all-time high among college girls, but now there’s a new wrinkle: female coeds are restricting calories during the day so they can drink their calories at night. The result is something called “drunkorexia.” To consequence-challenged college students, it seems smart. They save money by eating less and getting drunk faster and they keep their weight down all at the same time. It’s a win all the way around – until you look at the long-term health problems.

A study out of the University of Missouri found that as many as one in five students save their calories for alcohol. Students in the study said their motivations to be drunkorexic included getting drunk faster, spending money on alcohol that might otherwise be spent on food and keeping their weight down.

The research suggests the majority of drunkorexics are women — they were three times more likely to have the disorder than men.

Researchers tie it to the fact that women are constantly bombarded with media images of a physical standard that is unachievable for many. They learn at an early age that they can only consume so many calories without putting on weight, so many college students are choosing to limit those calories to alcohol.

Drunkorexics are at greater risk of becoming sexual assault victims and suffering from substance abuse and more severe eating disorders later in life, Taylor said. What these students may not be aware of is that drunkorexia could affect their ability to learn and to make decisions, and ultimately damage their internal organs, the Missouri study suggests. There are no statistics on how many develop a drinking problem or seek alcohol rehab as a result of drunkorexia.

Alcohol Rehab

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A New York Times article titled “Drink up, America. The government needs the money” outlines the way cash-strapped states are using alcohol sales to boost their bottom lines.

Cities across the country are facing their fifth straight year of declining revenues, forcing states to make drastic budget cuts that include axing services and laying off workers. It’s not good for anybody, so who can blame them for looking to alcohol to help them out?

“Since the recession started in earnest in 2008, dozens of states and cities have tinkered with laws that regulate alcohol sales as a way to build up their budgets,” The New York Times reports. “Twelve states have raised taxes on alcohol or changed alcohol laws to increase revenue, including Maryland, which in July pushed the sales tax on alcohol to 9 percent, from 6 percent — the first such increase in 38 years and one that is expected to bring in $85 million a year.

If your state hasn’t seen an increase, don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet. In November, voters in cities across Georgia will decide whether to repeal colonial-era laws that ban alcohol sales on Sunday. Nearby Tennessee has already loosened their grip on liquor, allowing those touring the popular Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn., to sample the product. It’s a big step for this famously dry country.

Others aren’t relying on legislation to bring in cash. Louisiana State University is allowing a local brewery to mix up batches of a special brew called Bandit Blonde under a special licensing agreement that earns money for the school with each beer bought.

While many are seeing only green, the changes have some people seeing red. They feel that mixing alcohol with government or education is bad business.

It’s not proven that raising taxes will make anyone drink less and there is always concern that any new program that enables drinking may help make alcohol seem “okay” to teens. The nation’s states and local governments take in $17 billion year from alcohol taxes, according to the New York Times. If imbibing helps fund new roads or better schools, does that make it easier to say “yes” to having another or will stiffer taxes keep drinking in check? Only time will tell.

Alcohol Rehab

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They agreed to speak in order to prevent other parents from going through the same thing.

If you ever need a reminder of the toll addiction takes, watch a clip from Anderson Cooper’s recent interview with the parents of the late Amy Winehouse. During the family’s first sit-down interview since their daughter’s tragic passing, Amy’s father Mitch blamed her death on her efforts to quit drinking. It’s not the first time they’ve suggested it may have been alcohol withdrawal that killed her.

Toxicology reports showed no illegal drugs were found in Winehouse’s system, but at the end of her life Winehouse was still struggling to deal with her alcohol addiction. Her father confirmed that traces of Librium, a prescription drug used to fight anxiety and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, was found in her system along with some alcohol. No official cause of death has not yet been identified.

“She drank to excess and did detox to excess,” Mitch told Cooper, saying it was a pattern he had seen before. “The periods of abstinence were becoming longer, and the periods of drinking were becoming shorter,” he said. “It was heading in the right direction.”

It’s ironic that Winehouse’s attempts to quit drinking may have actually caused her death, but alcohol detox is particularly difficult and should be done under the care of professionals.

Cooper also spoke to Amy’s mother, Janis Winehouse, her stepmother, her aunt and boyfriend Reg Traviss. According to Traviss, he wanted to talk to her more about her drinking problem but worried she would feel he was “nagging.”

A full inquest into the singer’s death will begin next month.

Alcohol Detox

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Former NHL Predator Wade Belak is the latest in a series of young hockey players who have died recently. Is there a connection to depression, alcohol or prescription meds?

What is behind the death of former Predator Wade Belak, an enforcer who retired in March, ending a career that included five different NHL teams? Just 35 years old, he was found dead this week in Toronto.

Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella said officers found a man dead when they were called to a hotel and condo complex in the early afternoon. No foul play is suspected and an investigation is ongoing.

While any unexplained death of an athlete still in their prime is disturbing, the fact that Belak is the third NHL enforcer found dead since May is especially alarming.

Winnipeg’s Rick Rypien, only 27, was found dead in August 2011 at his home in Alberta. A police official termed it a “sudden and non-suspicious’’ death, but ESPN reports that the implication was that Rypien’s mental health issues were directly linked to his untimely death. Teammates and coaches were surprised, as it seemed Rypien had turned a corner in recent months after twice leaving the Canucks during the season for personal reasons. Meanwhile, former Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, 28, died in May from what was ruled an accidental mix of alcohol and the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

After the first two deaths, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he expected the NHL to review its substance abuse and behavioral health program.

“It’s not only about the deaths, it’s the deaths that surround similar type players,’’ former Flames general manager Craig Button told The Canadian Press. “It’s not just getting hit in the head, it’s everything that goes with that role. I think that people are paying very, very serious attention to concussions.’’

Pro athletes need to be particularly vigilant when it comes to injuries and the use of prescription drugs and alcohol to dull chronic pain. An injury on the field, court or rink can easily turn into a substance abuse problem. Would OxyContin rehab have helped Boogaard? Would treatment for co-occurring disorders have saved Rypien? We’ll never know.

While retired from the game, Belak was set to return to the rink as a sideline reporter on Nashville television broadcasts this season.

Drug Rehab

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Surrounding yourself with the right people after you leave treatment is key to long-term sobriety.

If someone leaves alcohol rehab and returns to the same group of friends that shared or enabled their harmful behaviors, they have a much higher likelihood of relapsing. Instead, changes need to be made to surround yourself with people who are also pursuing sobriety and who can encourage you to find alternative, healthy ways to respond to triggers and stress.

Celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson, also known for dating troubled actress Lindsay Lohan, was arrested this month and charged with drunk driving. She was pulled over at 10:31 am near the California desert town of Baker, several hours northeast of Los Angeles, after being clocked driving 89 mph. Now the 33-year-old faces two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and having a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above, according to the Los Angeles Times. The police report says Ronson “displayed signs of alcohol intoxication” and was arrested after taking field sobriety tests.

Have the bad habits of her ex rubbed off on Ronson? We don’t know if Ronson and Lohan are still in touch, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone was influenced negatively by those they spend time hanging around. It’s why parents are so worried about their teens falling in with the proverbial “wrong crowd.” It’s also why drug treatment and alcohol treatment programs try to teach patients that who they spend time with really does matter – a lot.

Do you think it matters? Who are the people in your life who help you have fun and stay sober?