The role of dopamine in alcohol self-administration in humans: individual differences
- PMID: 18367384
- DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2008.01.008
The role of dopamine in alcohol self-administration in humans: individual differences
Abstract
Objective: To clarify dopamine's role in alcohol self-administration in a heterogeneous sample of drinkers using acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion (APTD).
Methods: Sixteen men with variable drinking histories were characterized on their ethanol-induced cardiac response, a marker previously proposed to index dopamine system reactivity and vulnerability to alcohol abuse. During separate sessions participants were administered (i) a nutritionally balanced (BAL) amino acid (AA) mixture, (ii) a mixture lacking the dopamine precursors, phenylalanine and tyrosine, and (iii) APTD followed by the dopamine precursor, L-DOPA. Five hours after AA administration, participants could earn units of alcohol using a progressive ratio breakpoint task.
Results: Alcohol self-administration was reduced in the APTD and APTD+L-DOPA conditions relative to the BAL condition. In both cases the changes were predicted by ethanol-induced cardiac change.
Conclusions: The motivation to drink is likely regulated by more than one neurobiological mechanism. Individual differences in cardiac responsivity to ethanol might provide a peripheral marker of responsiveness to pharmacological manipulations of dopamine.
Similar articles
-
Twenty years of dopamine research: individual differences in the response of accumbal dopamine to environmental and pharmacological challenges.Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 May 13;585(2-3):228-44. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2008.02.084. Epub 2008 Mar 15. Eur J Pharmacol. 2008. PMID: 18423601 Review.
-
Lack of effect of acute dopamine precursor depletion in nicotine-dependent smokers.Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2006 Oct;16(7):512-20. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2006.02.002. Epub 2006 Mar 20. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2006. PMID: 16545549 Clinical Trial.
-
Cocaine craving, euphoria, and self-administration: a preliminary study of the effect of catecholamine precursor depletion.Behav Neurosci. 2005 Dec;119(6):1619-27. doi: 10.1037/0735-7044.119.6.1619. Behav Neurosci. 2005. PMID: 16420164 Clinical Trial.
-
Acute tyrosine depletion and alcohol ingestion in healthy women.Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2000 Apr;24(4):459-64. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2000. PMID: 10798581 Clinical Trial.
-
Experimental design in alcohol administration research: limitations and alternatives in the manipulation of dosage-set.J Stud Alcohol. 1993 Nov;54(6):750-61. doi: 10.15288/jsa.1993.54.750. J Stud Alcohol. 1993. PMID: 8271813 Review.
Cited by
-
Sex moderates effects of alcohol and cannabis co-use on alcohol and stress reactivity.Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2022 Apr;46(4):530-541. doi: 10.1111/acer.14797. Epub 2022 Mar 7. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2022. PMID: 35229336 Free PMC article.
-
Effects of average reward rate on vigor as a function of individual variation in striatal dopamine.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2022 Feb;239(2):465-478. doi: 10.1007/s00213-021-06017-0. Epub 2021 Nov 4. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2022. PMID: 34735591 Free PMC article.
-
Using pharmacological manipulations to study the role of dopamine in human reward functioning: A review of studies in healthy adults.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Jan;120:123-158. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.004. Epub 2020 Nov 14. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021. PMID: 33202256 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Rat models of reward deficits in psychiatric disorders.Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2018 Aug;22:136-142. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.05.001. Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2018. PMID: 30123817 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Evidence that Illness-Compatible Cues Are Rewarding in Women Recovered from Anorexia Nervosa: A Study of the Effects of Dopamine Depletion on Eye-Blink Startle Responses.PLoS One. 2016 Oct 20;11(10):e0165104. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165104. eCollection 2016. PLoS One. 2016. PMID: 27764214 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
