Results published in a science journal called Alcohol states that drinking highly caffeinated beverages mixed with alcohol trigger changes in the adolescent brain, similar to taking cocaine. "It seems the two substances together push them over a limit that causes changes in their behaviour and changes the neurochemistry in their brains. We're clearly seeing effects of the combined drinks that we would not see if drinking one or the other," said Richard van Rijn, Assistant Professor at Purdue University.
The calculation said that adolescent mice given high-caffeine energy drinks were not more likely than a control group to drink more alcohol as adults. But when those high levels of caffeine were mixed with alcohol and given to adolescent mice, they showed physical and neurochemical signs similar to mice given cocaine.
Researchers also detected increased levels of protein FosB, marker of long-term changes in neurochemistry, elevated in those abusing drugs like cocaine or morphine. "That's one reason why it's so difficult for drug users to quit because of these lasting changes in the brain," van Rijn said. "Mice that were exposed to highly caffeinated alcoholic drinks later found cocaine wasn't as pleasurable. They may then use more cocaine to get the same effect."
