Zeitschrift für Suchtforschung und -therapie

Abstrakt

Mechanisms and Mediators of the Relationship between Anxiety Disorders and Alcohol Use Disorders: Focus on Amygdalar NPY

Jim R Fadel and Marlene A Wilson

High rates of co morbidity for Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) and anxiety disorders suggest a causative relationship between these disorders, as well as overlapping neurobiological mechanisms. While it is well established that alcohol withdrawal can precipitate and exacerbate the expression of anxiety, the extent to which pre-existing anxiety disorders contribute to the development of AUDs is less clear. Anxiety relief is commonly cited as a motivation to consume alcohol and recent preclinical studies focusing on the relationship between innate anxiety phenotypes and alcohol– related behaviors support the notion that elevated anxiety may contribute to increased alcohol consumption. However, the endogenous neural mechanisms that mediate this relationship have yet to be fully defined. This review focuses on the relationship between anxiety-related responses and acute alcohol effects, including the potential role that the Neuropeptide Y (NPY) system in the amygdala plays in mediating the neurobiological intersection of anxiety-alcohol effects.