Scripps VIVO scripps research logo

  • Index
  • Log in
  • Home
  • People
  • Organizations
  • Research
  • Events
Search form
As of April 1st VIVO Scientific Profiles will no longer updated for faculty, and the link to VIVO will be removed from the library website. Faculty profile pages will continue to be updated via Interfolio. VIVO will continue being used behind the scenes to update graduate student profiles. Please contact helplib@scripps.edu if you have questions.
How to download citations from VIVO | Alternative profile options

Allostasis and dysregulation of corticotropin-releasing factor and neuropeptide y systems: Implications for the development of alcoholism

Academic Article
uri icon
  • Overview
  • Research
  • Identity
  • Additional Document Info
  • View All
scroll to property group menus

Overview

authors

  • Valdez, G. R.
  • Koob, George

publication date

  • December 2004

journal

  • Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior  Journal

abstract

  • Alcoholism is a chronic relapsing disorder, accompanied by alterations in psychological and physiological functioning, which reaches an addictive state where an individual demonstrates uncontrollable compulsive alcohol drinking and impairment in social and occupational functioning. Withdrawal is one of the defining characteristics of dependence, characterized by impaired physiological function and enhanced negative affect, and is thought to be a major contributing factor to relapse. The negative emotional aspects of withdrawal appear to be more involved in continued alcohol craving because physical withdrawal symptoms are not highly correlated with relapse in alcoholics. Allostasis describes maintaining stability outside the homeostatic range by varying the internal milieu to match environmental demands. This concept has been applied to neurobiological models of drug addiction and is thought to contribute to the vulnerability of drug addicts to relapse, as addicts continue to use drugs in order to maintain their psychological state within a homeostatic range. With regard to alcohol, two neuropeptides appear to be involved in the regulation of alcohol-related stress, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which is associated with an increased stress response and negative affect, and neuropeptide Y (NPY), a neuropeptide with anxiolytic properties. The hypothesis to be developed in the present review is that a dysregulation of the CRF and NPY systems significantly contributes to the motivational basis of continued alcohol-seeking behavior during alcohol dependence. It appears that increases in CRF contribute to the negative affective state that is strongly associated with alcohol withdrawal, and NPY provides a motivational basis to consume alcohol because the anxiolytic effects of alcohol, which are strongly associated with relapse, appear to be regulated in part by this neuropeptide.

subject areas

  • Alcoholism
  • Animals
  • Anxiety
  • Behavior, Addictive
  • Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
  • Homeostasis
  • Humans
  • Neuropeptide Y
  • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
scroll to property group menus

Research

keywords

  • alcohol
  • allostasis
  • anxiety
  • corticotropin-releasing factor
  • neuropeptide Y
  • stress
scroll to property group menus

Identity

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0091-3057

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.pbb.2004.09.020

PubMed ID

  • 15582675
scroll to property group menus

Additional Document Info

start page

  • 671

end page

  • 689

volume

  • 79

issue

  • 4

©2022 The Scripps Research Institute | Terms of Use | Powered by VIVO

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Support