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Alcoholism: a psychobiological perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

R Dantzer  and
H Ollat
R Dantzer
Affiliation:
INRA-INSERM, U176, Rue Camille Saint-Saens, 33077Bordeaux Cedex
H Ollat
Affiliation:
Association pour la Neuropsychopharmacologie, 16 Boulevard de Charonne, 75014Paris, France
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Summary

Like many phenomena which are located at the intersection between different disciplines, the complexity of alcoholism is difficult to comprehend, especially at an experimental level. In particular, pharmacological approaches towards alcoholism have emphasized the anxiety- and stress-reducing properties of ethanol, in spite of the limited clinical support for this hypothesis. In the same manner, the phenomenon of behavioral tolerance has mainly been approached from a pharmacological perspective, with little or no interest paid to the sensory stimuli possibly involved in the conditioning of drug effects. Comparative studies in animals selected for alcohol intake have concentrated on the biological responses to alcohol and have not investigated the possibility of genetic differences in sensitivity to environmental stimuli. Based on recent progress in the elucidation of the individual and environmental factors which play a key role in the development and stabilization of abnormal behavior in conflict situations, it is proposed that alcoholism is the result of a predisposition to react in a certain manner to environmental stimuli and social influences which is strengthened by the pharmacological effects of ethanol. The manner in which this hypothesis can be put to test has been discussed.

Keywords

alcoholismanimal modelsanxietystressbehavioural toleranceindividual differences
Type
Review article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 6 , Issue 5 , 1991 , pp. 209 - 215
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier, Paris 1991

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