L. Buydensbranchey et al., HORMONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND ALCOHOL CRAVING CHANGES AFTER M-CHLOROPHENYLPIPERAZINE ADMINISTRATION IN ALCOHOLICS, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 21(2), 1997, pp. 220-226
To assess the serotonergic function of alcoholics, their neuroendocrin
e and psychological responsivities to the serotonergic partial agonist
meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP) was compared with the responsitiv
ity of healthy subjects, The effect of m-CPP on craving for alcohol wa
s also assessed in the alcoholics, Sixteen patients and 14 controls we
re tested under double-blind, placebo-controlled conditions, m-CPP (0.
5 mg/kg of body weight) was given orally, Alcoholics were tested after
a period of abstinence of 15 to 39 days. The two groups of subjects d
id not differ in their cortisol response to m-CPP, but the prolactin r
esponse of alcoholics was significantly blunted, Alcoholics reported a
significantly more intense ''high'' feeling after m-CPP than the heal
thy subjects, m-CPP induced also a decreased craving for alcohol, Our
data thus provide further evidence for the existence of a serotonergic
dysfunction in alcoholics and a modulation of craving for alcohol by
serotonergic systems.