An Endocannabinoid Signal Associated with Desire for Alcohol is Suppressed in Recently Abstinent Alcoholics

Overview

Journal Psychopharmacology (Berl)

Specialty Pharmacology

Date 2009 Apr 4

PMID 19343330

Citations 24

Authors

Regina A Mangieri

Kwang-Ik A Hong

Daniele Piomelli

Rajita Sinha

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Alcoholics report persistent alcohol craving that is heightened by cognitive cues, stressful situations, and abstinence. The role of endogenous cannabinoids in human alcohol craving--though long suspected--remains elusive.

Materials And Methods: We employed laboratory exposure to stress, alcohol cue, and neutral relaxed situations through guided imagery procedures to evoke alcohol desire and craving in healthy social drinkers (n = 11) and in treatment-engaged, recently abstinent alcoholic subjects (n = 12) and assessed alcohol craving, heart rate, and changes in circulating endocannabinoid levels. Subjective anxiety was also measured as a manipulation check for the procedures.

Results: In healthy social drinkers, alcohol cue imagery increased circulating levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide, whereas neutral and stress-related imagery had no such effect. Notably, baseline and response anandamide levels in these subjects were negatively and positively correlated with self-reported alcohol craving scores, respectively. Cue-induced increases in heart rate were also correlated with anandamide responses. By contrast, no imagery-induced anandamide mobilization was observed in alcoholics, whose baseline anandamide levels were markedly reduced compared to healthy drinkers and were uncorrelated to either alcohol craving or heart rate.

Conclusions: The results suggest that plasma anandamide levels provide a marker of the desire for alcohol in social drinkers, which is suppressed in recently abstinent alcoholics.

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