Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2026

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
The relative impact of waiting time and treatment entry on drug and alcohol use
David Best1, Alison Noble, Gayle Ridge
1National Addiction Centre/The Maudsley Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill, London, UK. d.best@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Abstract:
One hundred and twenty-three treatment-seeking substance misusers were recruited to a study assessing the early impact of treatment. Participants were interviewed at treatment entry and 3 and 6 months later, regardless of their treatment status (i.e. including those who had dropped out of treatment), while additional data were obtained from the two assessment interviews carried out prior to the initiation of treatment. Three consistent observations can be applied to both the opiate misuser (n = 61) and problem drinker samples (n = 62): (1) the period of pre-treatment wait (mean of 8 weeks) was characterized by stable patterns of substance misuse with no significant 'spontaneous' improvement in indices of severity of drug or alcohol problems; (2) the period immediately following initiation of treatment was associated with substantial reductions in the quantity and frequency of substance use, an effect not influenced by the length of time for treatment initiation; (3) these benefits are maintained to 6 months after treatment initiation. The waiting period for treatment initiation does not seem to be characterized by significant changes in drug or alcohol use patterns, at least among those who made it into treatment, with clear and sustained improvements irrespective of the length of treatment wait.
More Related Videos
09:29Investigating Drivers of Antireward in Addiction Behavior with Anatomically Specific Single-Cell Gene Expression Methods
Published on: August 4, 2022
07:31Murine Drinking Models in the Development of Pharmacotherapies for Alcoholism: Drinking in the Dark and Two-bottle Choice
Published on: January 7, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Time Course of Drug Effect
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug Concentration Versus Time Correlation
Two pivotal parameters are the minimum effective concentration (MEC) and the minimum toxic concentration (MTC). The MEC is the lowest drug...
Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine