Neurobiology of Addiction to Alcohol


Why is it that recovering persons with alcoholism should not drink near-beer (beer with little or no alcohol)?

...Hank had been dry for several weeks thanks to a radical withdrawal program, but a simple walk past Pete's Tavern on any given night almost erased his will to abstain. During the daytime he did not feel a craving for alcohol, but when he passed the bar in the evening--when he saw the warm light through the windows and heard the glasses clinking--he would be sorely tempted to run inside for a beer. Addiction researchers call this phenomenon "conditioned desire." If a person had always consumed alcohol in the same situation, an encounter with the familiar stimuli will make the feeling of need for the substance almost irresistible. Then, even after years of abstinence, consuming a single drink can set off a powerful longing to imbibe more and more... (link)

Is this real? How does this work?

First, is this real? On a list of AA slogans, #298 (out of 407) is "Don't hang around wet places and wet faces." (I'm sure there are many variations.) There is a reason it has become a slogan. Several reasons, actually. From Neural systems of reinforcement for drug addiction: from actions to habits to compulsion [Barry J Everitt & Trevor W Robbins, Nature Neuroscience 8, 1481 - 1489 (2005)]
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