Drosophilalarvae as a model to study physiological alcohol dependence

Drosophila larvae as a model to study physiological alcohol dependence

Alcohol addiction is a disease that includes a diverse set of phenotypes. Functional alcohol tolerance is an adaptation to the effects of alcohol that restores neuronal homeostatic balance while the drug is present. When the drug is suddenly withheld, these adaptations unbalance the nervous system and are thought to be the origin of some withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms, which can be a ...

Alcohol dependence as a chronic pain disorder.

Dysregulation of pain neurocircuitry and neurochemistry has been increasingly recognized as playing a critical role in a diverse spectrum of diseases including migraine, fibromyalgia, depression, and PTSD. Evidence presented here supports the hypothesis that alcohol dependence is among the pathologies arising from aberrant neurobiological substrates of pain. In this review, we explore the possi...

Supplement: A Heuristic Model of Alcohol Dependence

A Heuristic Model of Alcohol Dependence

BACKGROUND Substance dependence poses a critical health problem. Sadly, its neurobiological mechanisms are still unclear, and this lack of real understanding is reflected in insufficient treatment options. It has been hypothesized that alcohol effects are due to an imbalance between neuroexcitatory and neuroinhibitory amino acids. However, glutamate and GABA interact with other neurotransmitter...

Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in alcohol dependence: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Pavlovian processes are thought to play an important role in the development, maintenance and relapse of alcohol dependence, possibly by influencing and usurping ongoing thought and behavior. The influence of pavlovian stimuli on ongoing behavior is paradigmatically measured by pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) tasks. These involve multiple stages and are complex. Whether incr...