Gavin N Petrie, Raegan Mazurka, Elisabeth R Paul, Niclas Stensson, Bijar Ghafouri, Matthew N Hill, Markus Heilig, Leah M Mayo
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Rationale: Harmful alcohol use remains a significant global public health challenge. Examining variability in the acute subjective effects of alcohol and related neurobiological mechanisms may advance the understanding of susceptibility to harmful alcohol use. Research suggests the endocannabinoid (eCB) system may play an important role in mediating the reinforcing effects of alcohol. This study examined the relationship between alcohol-induced changes in eCB concentrations and the subjective psychoactive effects of acute alcohol consumption.
Method: Healthy social drinkers (n = 28, aged 20-35 years) participated in a within-subjects, single-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory alcohol challenge study. Alcohol (0.6 g/kg; with 20% adjustment for women) and placebo sessions were counterbalanced. Subjective alcohol effects were assessed from self-report questionnaires administered pre- and post-dosing, including the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES), Drug Effects Questionnaire (DEQ), and Profile of Mood States (POMS). The eCBs, N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), were assessed from blood plasma taken throughout the dosing session.
Results: Acute alcohol was associated with an overall decrease in 2-AG concentrations compared to placebo. Further, we found that a drop in 2-AG concentrations was associated with less drug 'liking' and feelings of 'friendliness', whereas under placebo conditions, a rise in 2-AG was associated with a smaller decrease in feelings of 'stimulation' (e.g., feeling energized, talkative). Alcohol did not significantly affect AEA concentrations.
Conclusion: Our study provides the first evidence that eCBs may contribute to individual differences in sensitivity to alcohol's reward-related mechanisms by influencing subjective experience, offering insight into the potential role of eCBs in the processes underlying harmful alcohol use.
期刊介绍：
Official Journal of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS)
Psychopharmacology is an international journal that covers the broad topic of elucidating mechanisms by which drugs affect behavior. The scope of the journal encompasses the following fields:
Human Psychopharmacology: Experimental
This section includes manuscripts describing the effects of drugs on mood, behavior, cognition and physiology in humans. The journal encourages submissions that involve brain imaging, genetics, neuroendocrinology, and developmental topics. Usually manuscripts in this section describe studies conducted under controlled conditions, but occasionally descriptive or observational studies are also considered.
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Translational
This section comprises studies addressing the broad intersection of drugs and psychiatric illness. This includes not only clinical trials and studies of drug usage and metabolism, drug surveillance, and pharmacoepidemiology, but also work utilizing the entire range of clinically relevant methodologies, including neuroimaging, pharmacogenetics, cognitive science, biomarkers, and others. Work directed toward the translation of preclinical to clinical knowledge is especially encouraged. The key feature of submissions to this section is that they involve a focus on clinical aspects.
Preclinical psychopharmacology: Behavioral and Neural
This section considers reports on the effects of compounds with defined chemical structures on any aspect of behavior, in particular when correlated with neurochemical effects, in species other than humans. Manuscripts containing neuroscientific techniques in combination with behavior are welcome. We encourage reports of studies that provide insight into the mechanisms of drug action, at the behavioral and molecular levels.
Preclinical Psychopharmacology: Translational
This section considers manuscripts that enhance the confidence in a central mechanism that could be of therapeutic value for psychiatric or neurological patients, using disease-relevant preclinical models and tests, or that report on preclinical manipulations and challenges that have the potential to be translated to the clinic. Studies aiming at the refinement of preclinical models based upon clinical findings (back-translation) will also be considered. The journal particularly encourages submissions that integrate measures of target tissue exposure, activity on the molecular target and/or modulation of the targeted biochemical pathways.
Preclinical Psychopharmacology: Molecular, Genetic and Epigenetic
This section focuses on the molecular and cellular actions of neuropharmacological agents / drugs, and the identification / validation of drug targets affecting the CNS in health and disease. We particularly encourage studies that provide insight into the mechanisms of drug action at the molecular level. Manuscripts containing evidence for genetic or epigenetic effects on neurochemistry or behavior are welcome.
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