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Rehab News:Stress and 'alcohol cues' produce craving in different ways

Stress and so-called 'alcohol cues' are known to lead to cravings and relapse in alcoholics who are attempting not to drink, but researchers have found that the two factors have differing effects on the brain.

The discovery suggests that by independently assessing the effects of stress and alcohol cues (reminders of drinking), it may be possible to improve an alcoholic's chances of a successful recovery.

Helen Fox, associate research scientist at Yale University School of Medicine, said that "a clarification of these differences may help to develop more tailored therapy for both the reward and distress components of craving".

The researchers showed a range of images to 20 patients who were undergoing alcohol treatment.

One set of images depicted a recent personal, stressful situation. The second involved a personal alcohol cue-related situation, while the third was related to a neutral, relaxing situation.

Ms Fox revealed: "While stress-related craving was associated with an increase in negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, fear, and sadness, cue-induced craving was associated with an anxiety or fear state and a decrease in positive mood such as joy or a relaxed state."

The researcher also revealed that stress-related alcohol craving was accompanied by an increase in blood pressure, while cue-related craving was accompanied by an increase in salivary cortisol.

Suzanne Thomas, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina, concluded: "It might be possible to improve alcoholism treatment by attending to these differences ... to develop new treatments that individually target both stress-induced and cue-induced craving to give the person in recovery the best possible chance to succeed in his or her efforts to stay sober."

The findings are published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.