New research indicates that some people may be hard-wired for binge drinking. We'll look at the latest research, and what colleges are doing to fight the problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six U.S. adults are consuming about eight drinks at a time, four times a month.
In a King's College London study, researchers found that animals who lacked a particular gene, RASGRF-2, didn't have as strong of a desire for alcohol. Teenage boys that had the gene showed increased dopamine in brain scans relating to alcohol consumption.
More from the BBC:
Lead researcher Prof Gunter Schumann explained that while this is not proof that the gene causes binge drinking, and it is likely that many environment factors and other genes are also involved, the findings help shed light on why some people appear to be vulnerable to the allure of alcohol.
"This appears to be one gene that regulates how rewarding alcohol is for some people.
"People seek out situations which fulfil their sense of reward and make them happy, so if your brain is wired to find alcohol rewarding, you will seek it out.
Dr. Vivian Faden, director of the Office of Science Policy and Communication at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, will join The Daily Circuit Thursday Dec. 20 to discuss genetics and binge drinking.
Gunter Schumann, a researcher at King's College London, and Ervin Cox, assistant dean and director of the Student Assistance and Judicial Affairs at University of Wisconsin-Madison, will also join the discussion.
READ MORE ABOUT BINGE DRINKING
'Binge-drinking gene' discovered (BBC)
College binge drinking: How bad is the problem really? (Time)
Binge drinking facts (CDC)
College drinking: No fear, all reward raises risk (Futurity)