A new animal study concludes that ending even moderate alcohol consumption can raise the risk of depression and inhibit the brain's ability to produce new neurons by reducing the number of neural stem cells, Science Daily reported July 9.

"Our research in an animal model establishes a causal link between abstinence from alcohol drinking and depression," said study senior author Clyde W. Hodge, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. "In mice that voluntarily drank alcohol for 28 days, depression-like behavior was evident 14 days after termination of alcohol drinking. This suggests that people who stop drinking may experience negative mood states days or weeks after the alcohol has cleared their systems."

"This research provides the first evidence that long-term abstinence from moderate alcohol drinking -- rather than drinking per se -- leads to a negative mood state, depression," Hodge added.

Treating the mice with an antidepressant drug for the first 14 days of abstinence seemed to prevent depressive symptoms and restore the brain's ability to make neurons, however, a finding that could have application in treating individuals with alcoholism and depression.

The research was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.