Associative learning in alcohol dependence
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effects of alcohol dependence on human associative learning.
IRAS ID
210273
Contact name
Julia Sinclair
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 22 days
Research summary
It is well recognised that when environmental stimuli are present during alcohol drinking they become associated with the positive psychological effects of alcohol. Alcohol-related cues can elicit memories of the positive psychological effects of alcohol which can lead motivational changes such as cravings. Cue-induced cravings can trigger relapse, even after years of abstinence. Cue-exposure therapy (CET) is a behavioural modification treatment which exposes patients to the alcohol cues, e.g. sight and smell, in the absence of consumption. Exposure to the cues without reinforcement weakens the cues ability to elicit cravings which in turn attenuates the chances of relapse. While CET therapy has been successful for other disorders with similar Pavlovian conditioning aetiology (e.g. phobias, OCD, binge eating), it has not been successful for alcohol dependence. It is possible a history if excessive alcohol use can impair the ability to weaken a cues capacity to elicit cravings. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the effects alcohol dependence on Pavlovian conditioning mechanism.
Participants will be eligible if they are 18+ years old, speak English well enough to give informed consent, haven’t consumed alcohol on the day of testing. For the alcohol-dependent group we will recruit patients who are abstinent for < 12 months and not taking benzodiazepines. The control group will consist of individuals who drink very little alcohol or not at all. All control participants will be recruited by advertisements, and patients through advertisements in the clinical services involved as well as being approached by the treatment team. The experiment is a single 1 hour session where participants will complete a number of questionnaires, and complete a computer task that is designed to help us study human learning. The game does not contain any alcohol cues.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0343
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jan 2017
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion