Alcohol exposure therapy: generalisation and changes in responsivity.
Fifty male alcohol-dependent individuals presenting for treatment were randomly assigned to either a cue exposure (CE) or control group. The experimental group were presented with 10 exposure trials to the sight and smell of alcohol, whilst the control group were presented with a neutral beverage. Following this, subjects received exposure to alcohol in a different room to examine whether extinguished responses generalised to a different environment. Results showed that only those subjects presented with the alcohol cue showed a significant reduction in cue-elicited swallowing, subjective withdrawal symptoms, arousal and urge to drink alcohol and that these extinguished responses remained diminished in magnitude in a different environment. These results provide additional support for the effectiveness of CE in reducing responsivity to alcohol cues.
Staiger
P K
PK
School of Psychology, Burwood Campus, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. pstaiger@deakin.edu.au
Greeley
J D
JD
Wallace
S D
SD
D000328:Adult; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003463:Cues; D003679:Deglutition; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires