Rf. Mucha et al., Appetitive effects of drug cues modelled by pictures of the intake ritual:generality of cue-modulated startle examined with inpatient alcoholics, PSYCHOPHAR, 151(4), 2000, pp. 428-432
Rationale: A cue-modulated startle test recently confirmed that smoking cue
s in smokers may not be withdrawal-like and aversive as traditionally belie
ved. Objective: Analogous tests were applied to alcohol cues in inpatient a
lcoholics. Methods: Twenty-six withdrawn alcoholics (18 men) were examined.
Alcohol-related pictures were compared to standardised pleasant, neutral o
r unpleasant control scenes using an acoustic startle test and measures of
pleasure, arousal and desire for alcohol. Results: Pictures depicting prepa
ration for drinking (cues) were different from unpleasant control pictures
and similar to pleasant pictures but only on the startle test; no different
ial effects were found for alcohol craving and mixed motivational effects w
ere reported subjectively. The effects were not due to arousal and control
pictures depicting post-drinking events showed less effect than the alcohol
cues. Conclusions: New techniques of measuring drug cue motivation indicat
e that drug cues may have incentive properties in individuals in treatment
for alcoholism.