Incubation of alcohol craving during abstinence in patients with alcohol dependence.
Time-dependent increases in cue-induced nicotine and methamphetamine craving during abstinence were recently reported in human drug-dependent individuals. In the present study, we sought to determine whether this 'incubation of craving' phenomenon also occurs in alcoholics. Four groups of 80 inpatient adult male alcoholics were assessed in a single session (between-group design) for cue-induced alcohol craving at 7, 14, 30 and 60 days of abstinence. Another group that included 19 patients was repeatedly tested for cue-induced alcohol craving at the same abstinence days as above. Other psychological and physiological measures were assessed at the four abstinence timepoints. Cue-induced alcohol craving measured with visual analogue scales was the highest at 60 days of abstinence both between and within groups. However, heart rate, blood pressure and skin conductance responses did not differ between abstinent groups. These results provide evidence of the incubation of alcohol craving in humans, extending previous reports with smokers and methamphetamine addicts.
Institute of Mental Health/Peking University Sixth Hospital, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health, China; National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, China.
Peng
P
Li
Ping
P
Wu
Xue
X
Xin
Yun-Li
YL
Fan
Gui-Bin
GB
Wang
Fan
F
Wang
Meng-Ying
MY
Ma
Ming-Ming
MM
Xue
Yi-Xiao
YX
Luo
Fu-De
FD
Yang
Yan-Ping
YP
Bao
Jie
J
Shi
Hong-Qiang
HQ
Sun
Lin
L
Lu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D064829:Alcohol Abstinence / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D066249:Craving; D003463:Cues; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
Alcohol dependence; craving; incubation; physiological reaction