Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on November 18, 2004
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2005 40(1):80-85; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh107
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alcohol & Alcoholism Vol. 40, No. 1 © Medical Council on Alcohol 2005; all rights reserved
ATTENUATED SALIVARY CORTISOL SECRETION UNDER CUE EXPOSURE IS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY RELAPSE
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Lüebeck, Germany
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lüebeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538 Lüebeck, Germany. E-mail: junghanns.k{at}psychiatry.uni-luebeck.de
(Received 18 February 2004; first review notified 16 April 2004; in revised form 18 August 2004; accepted 5 October 2004)
Aims: To test whether the risk of relapse in alcohol dependence is predicted by the subjective experience of cue exposure (CE) and/or cortisol reactivity to alcohol cues. Methods: Salivary cortisol and self-ratings of ‘tension’ and ‘desire to drink’ were measured in 32 detoxified alcohol-dependent inpatients during CE sessions conducted in the first and third week of motivation enhancement therapy. Subjects completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Abbreviated Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (B-AEQ) towards the end of the inpatient treatment to measure emotional self-awareness and the expected positive effects of alcohol. Results: Six weeks after the end of the inpatient treatment, 15 patients were abstinent. Relapse was verified or was presumed for 17 patients. Those who had relapsed had shown an attenuated response to CE in the third week as an inpatient but did not differ from abstainers in terms of subjective reaction to cues. Subjective ratings of CE were not related to salivary cortisol or relapse but showed several associations with factors one and two of the TAS-20. The expectancy of enhanced social contacts by using alcohol (factor 1 of the B-AEQ) correlated negatively with the decline in salivary cortisol during the CE session in the third week of treatment. Subjective ratings of CE correlated with Alexithymiascores. Conclusions: Alcoholic patients who use alcohol to enhance their social contacts typically lack hypothalamo-hypophyscal-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) reactivity in the early period of abstention. They are at an increased risk of early relapse and perhaps use alcohol to increase cortisol secretion again.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  H. C. Fox, K.-I. A. Hong, K. M. Siedlarz, K. Bergquist, G. Anderson, M. J. Kreek, and R. Sinha Sex-Specific Dissociations in Autonomic and HPA Responses to Stress and Cues in Alcohol-Dependent Patients with Cocaine Abuse Alcohol Alcohol., November 1, 2009; 44(6): 575 - 585. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. M. Pratt and D. Davidson Role of the HPA Axis and the A118G Polymorphism of the {micro}-Opioid Receptor in Stress-Induced Drinking Behavior Alcohol Alcohol., July 1, 2009; 44(4): 358 - 365. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. G. BROWN, C. GIANOULAKIS, J. TREMBLAY, L. NADEAU, M. DONGIER, N. M. K. NG YING KIN, P. SERAGANIAN, and M. C. OUIMET SALIVARY CORTISOL: A PREDICTOR OF CONVICTIONS FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL? Alcohol Alcohol., September 1, 2005; 40(5): 474 - 481. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|