Effects of cortisol administration on craving during in vivo exposure in patients with alcohol use disorder.

ABSTRACT: Alcohol-associated memories and craving play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). As treatment options are limited in AUD, novel treatment strategies focus on the manipulation of alcohol-associated memories. The stress hormone cortisol affects various memory processes, and first clinical studies have shown that it inhibits the retrieval of disorder-specific memories and enhances extinction memory. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a single oral administration of cortisol on craving in patients with AUD during repeated in vivo exposure to alcohol pictures and the preferred alcoholic drink. In a double-blind, block-randomized, placebo-controlled cross-over design, 46 patients with AUD were treated with two sessions of in vivo exposure

SUBMITTER: Soravia LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7791020 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature