Alcohol and Alcoholism Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 35-39, 2003
© 2003 Medical Council on Alcohol
REWARD CRAVING AND WITHDRAWAL RELIEF CRAVING: ASSESSMENT OF DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONAL PATHWAYS TO ALCOHOL INTAKE
1 Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Departments of
2 Clinical Psychology and
3 Biostatistics, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim and
4 Department of Psychiatry of the Charité, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
Received 31 December 2001; first review notified 11 June 2002; accepted 28 June 2002
— Aims: Craving for the rewarding effects of alcohol may be evoked by conditioned alcohol-like effects whereas conditioned compensatory responses may induce withdrawal relief craving. We tested the hypothesis that drinking in positive emotional states is associated with appetitive reactions to alcohol-associated cues and contributes to reward craving, while conditioned withdrawal is associated with drinking in negative situations and distressful, obsessive preoccupations with alcohol. Methods: In 38 detoxified alcoholics, the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale was used to assess the craving factors ‘impaired control’, ‘interference with social functioning’ and ‘obsession’. Affective responses to alcohol-associated visual stimuli were measured with the affect-modulated eyeblink startle reflex, positive and negative drinking situations with the Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS) and withdrawal-like symptoms preceding alcohol intake with the revised Clinical Institute Assessment for Alcohol Scale (CIWA-Ar). Results: Appetitive reactions to alcohol-associated cues correlated positively with drinking in positive situations and contributed significantly to the craving factor ‘interference’ with social and work functioning. The severity of withdrawal-like symptoms preceding alcohol intake contributed to the craving factor ‘obsession’; however, contrary to our hypothesis, this measure of conditioned withdrawal correlated with drinking not only in negative but also in positive situations. Conclusions: Drinking in positive and negative situations, appetitive reactions to alcohol and withdrawal-like symptoms contributed differentially to the craving factors ‘obsession’ and ‘interference’, supporting the notion of different craving factors with separate underlying mechanisms.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. F. Wong Is getting older all that rewarding? PNAS, September 30, 2008; 105(39): 14751 - 14752. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Buri, F. Moggi, A. Giovanoli, and W. Strik Prescription procedures in medication for relapse prevention after inpatient treatment for alcohol use disorders in Switzerland Alcohol Alcohol., July 1, 2007; 42(4): 333 - 339. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. S. Barr, M. Schwandt, S. G. Lindell, S. A. Chen, D. Goldman, S. J. Suomi, J. D. Higley, and M. Heilig Association of a Functional Polymorphism in the {micro}-Opioid Receptor Gene With Alcohol Response and Consumption in Male Rhesus Macaques Arch Gen Psychiatry, March 1, 2007; 64(3): 369 - 376. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. M. N. CARDOSO, A. BARBOSA, F. ISMAIL, and S. POMBO NETER ALCOHOLIC TYPOLOGY (NAT) Alcohol Alcohol., March 1, 2006; 41(2): 133 - 139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. KIEFER and K. WIEDEMANN COMBINED THERAPY: WHAT DOES ACAMPROSATE AND NALTREXONE COMBINATION TELL US? Alcohol Alcohol., November 1, 2004; 39(6): 542 - 547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|