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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
Rimonabant (SR141716) has no effect on alcohol self-administration or endocrine measures in nontreatment-seeking
David Ted George1, David W Herion, Cheryl L Jones
1Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 10 Center Drive, 10 CRC-Hatfield Center, Rm. 1-5330, MSC 1108, Bethesda, MD 20892-1108, USA. tedg@mail.nih.gov
Rationale:
There is an extensive literature showing that the CB(1) cannabinoid receptor antagonist rimonabant (SR141716) decreases alcohol consumption in animals, but little is known about its effects in human alcohol drinkers.
Methods:
In this study, 49 nontreatment-seeking heavy alcohol drinkers participated in a 3-week study. After a 1-week baseline, participants received either 20 mg/day of rimonabant or placebo for 2 weeks under double-blind conditions. During these 3 weeks, participants reported their daily alcohol consumption by telephone. Subsequently, they participated in an alcohol self-administration paradigm in which they received a priming dose of alcohol followed by the option of consuming either eight alcohol drinks or receiving $3.00 for each nonconsumed drink. Endocrine measures and self-rating scales were also obtained.
Results:
Rimonabant did not change alcohol consumption during the 2 weeks of daily call-ins. Similarly, the drug did not change either alcohol self-administration or endocrine measures during the laboratory session.
Conclusion:
We conclude that the daily administration of 20 mg of rimonabant for 2 weeks has no effect on alcohol consumption in nontreatment-seeking heavy alcohol drinkers.
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