A three-pathway psychobiological model of craving for alcohol

Abstract

In this article, by reviewing the psychological, psychophysiological, neurobiological, and psychopharmacological literature on craving for alcohol, it is argued that converging evidence from several disciplines suggests a three-pathway psychobiological model of craving. Essential to this model is the appreciation of the role of individual differences in affect regulation strategies or personality styles, conditionability, sensitivity to alcohol's effects, and related dysregulations in distinct neural circuitries or neurotransmitter systems. These factors are of crucial importance to a proper understanding of the nature of craving, its underlying mechanisms and different manifestations. As a first pathway, it is suggested that reward craving or desire for the rewarding, stimulating and/or enhancing effects of alcohol might result from either dopaminergic/opioidergic dysregulation or a personality style characterized by reward seeking or a combination of both. As a second pathway, it is suggested that relief craving or desire for the reduction of tension or arousal might result from either γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic/glutamatergic dysregulation or a personality style characterized by stress reactivity or a combination of both. Obsessive craving, the result of the third pathway, can be defined as lack of control over intrusive thoughts about drinking resulting in impaired functioning. This type of craving might result either from a serotonin deficiency or a personality style characterized by low constraint or disinhibition or a combination of both. The putative implications of this three-pathway model for the assessment of alcohol craving, diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism, and future research on craving, are discussed.