Alcohol dependence and cue reactivity

A group of 35 severely dependent male alcoholic patients undergoing cue exposure treatment were studied. Thirty-one subjects had complete data and their physiological and subjective responses to drink cues on the first day of the cue exposure program were subjected to a principal components analysis. The principal component loadings were then used to construct a single measure of responsivity and this responsivity measure was found to correlate significantly with Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) scores. Further analysis of the relationship between responsivity and the subscales of the SADQ showed that the experience of affective withdrawal symptoms, craving for alcohol and drinking to relieve withdrawal symptoms were the most strongly correlated with responsivity.