There is a general perception among students at the University that drinking is a normal part of college, one that can easily be disposed of upon entering the “real world.”

However, the effects of past drinking may cause more harm than just additional belly fat, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Stopping, or simply cutting back on moderate drinking could potentially lead to mental depression, the study reported.

UNC researchers at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies recently discovered a link between abstaining from alcohol and depression. The results of the study

were published June 18 and appear in the online journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

“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,” said Clyde Hodge, a psychiatry professor at UNC.

The researchers observed that mice who willingly drank alcohol for 28 days exhibited strong depression-like behavior after 14 days of deprivation, according to the study. Mice tested after only one day of abstinence did not show symptoms of depression. A possible cause of the increase in depression-like behavior is the reduction in proliferating cell nuclear antigen, the protein that creates new cells and regulates a person’s mood, according to the study.

Regardless, many students say they are moderate drinkers.

“I usually only go downtown to drink a couple nights a week,” said Brandon Prather, a senior from Peachtree City. “Other than that I’ll just have a beer with dinner.”