Researchers at the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine published findings on July 9, 2026, indicating that alcohol has differing effects on brain circuit function in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. The study, published in the journal Neuropharmacology, examined the corticostriatal circuit, which plays a role in decision-making and behavioral flexibility.

Dr. Yufei Huang, a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Dr. Jun Wang, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, led the study. The title of the published study is 'Chronic alcohol exposure produces pathology-dependent corticostriatal circuit remodeling in Aβ- and tau-based mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.'

Researchers used animal models that represented two distinct pathologies associated with Alzheimer's: amyloid-beta pathology and tau pathology. In models with amyloid-beta pathology, alcohol decreased communication within the corticostriatal circuit. Conversely, in animal models exhibiting tau pathology, alcohol increased communication in the same circuit.

"We expected alcohol to worsen both conditions in a similar way, but that was not what we saw," Huang said. "The results were almost the opposite of what we expected." He added, "To us, this highlights an important principle in biology: Combining two risk factors does not always produce a simple additive effect."

"This is important because Alzheimer's disease is not a uniform condition," Huang said. "People may differ in disease stage, type of brain changes, genetics and lifestyle factors." The study also determined that alcohol may interfere with microglia, which are immune cells within the brain, particularly in the amyloid model. "Alcohol not only altered brain circuit function but also appeared to disrupt immune cell responses in the brain," he said.

The research received funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and a Texas A&M University research funding program. Alcohol use has been associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia.