Drinking Can Be Triggered By The Right Place And The Right Time

Strong cravings for alcohol can be sparked by the mere sight, smell and taste of a person’s favorite drink. Responses to such cues that are associated with the positive effects of drinking are a lead cause of relapse in abstinent alcoholics. Using a behavioral animal model, researchers of a new study, scheduled for publication in the August 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, have found that the physical surroundings where alcohol cues are experienced can greatly influence the ability of those cues to trigger relapse.

Specifically, Chaudhri and colleagues taught rats to learn that a brief tone signaled when a small amount of alcohol would be available in a fluid receptacle for them to drink. This learning occurred in a distinctive environment consisting of a particular appearance, smell, and lighting. They were then put into a second, unique context with a different appearance, smell, and lighting, and were repeatedly exposed to the tone but never given alcohol. After several sessions in this new context, the rats gradually learned that the tone no longer predicted alcohol and consequently stopped checking the fluid receptacle. However, upon re-exposure to the original context where alcohol was available, presentation of the tone once again caused the rats to immediately check for it. “This finding demonstrates the power of environments to trigger relapse to alcohol-seeking in response to alcohol-predictive cues,” said lead author Nadia Chaudhri, Ph. D., with the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UCSF. “This effect is highly detrimental to humans who are trying to abstain from drinking.”

Additionally, the authors also found that the capacity of an alcohol-associated context to trigger relapse to alcohol cues can be greatly diminished by presenting the cues repeatedly in multiple distinct contexts without alcohol. If used in the clinic, this technique of extinguishing responses to alcohol cues in multiple contexts could greatly increase the efficacy of current behavioral treatments for alcoholism. John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, further elaborates on this idea, commenting that “it is possible that exposure-based therapies could occur in a broader range of contexts so as to enhance their effectiveness. These contexts could be real, i.e., visiting bars or liquor stores, could be created using virtual reality techniques, or could simply be recreated by patients as they imagined visiting places that triggered their urges to drink.” Additional research will clearly need to be undertaken to determine the effectiveness of such a technique, but these findings indicate that it may a promising addition to addiction therapies.
______
source: MediLexicon, http://www.medilexicon.com

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Heavy drinkers seek out bargains

A study of heavy drinkers consuming hundreds of units of alcohol a week found they were buying cheaper drink than most other people. One study author said it was “likely” a minimum price for alcohol, as proposed by the Scottish government, would cut these problem drinkers’ consumption. A total of 377 people were interviewed as….

Sobriety leads to new role as a guide

Marilu Thornburgh’s outgoing personality has been built upon a survivor’s instinct. There was a time when her world was perilously close to collapse. A time when co-dependency and her subsequent descent into alcoholism prevailed. But Thornburgh did survive, she got help to overcome her problems and has been sober since the 1990s. Now she readily….

NHS feeling the burden as binge drinking becomes a British affliction

When the Government published its alcohol strategy in 2004, it concluded that drink was a problem for a “small minority” in Britain. The repeated warnings from health professionals, the statistics on alcohol-related ill health and hospital treatment, and the calculations of cost to the NHS tell a very different story. The annual number of hospital….

5 Benefits of Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers

Primarily, the goal of a dual diagnosis treatment center is to effectively treat co-existing physical or mental health conditions of an addict along with their substance abuse. By treating all conditions in continuum and integrating the treatment services, many benefits can be received in dual diagnosis treatment centers that may be limited by other providers…..

Will Alcohol Abuse Treatment Centers Help Me Recover?

Only around 10% of people who suffer from an alcohol addiction receive help from an alcohol abuse center Over twenty percent of rehab admission are from people who need help with their alcohol addiction Over 20 million people have an alcohol addiction in America Alcohol Addiction Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in America…..