Behavioral Neurobiology of Alcohol Addiction

The question how alcohol alters mood states and why this may end up becoming an addiction is puzzling alcohol researchers since decades. In this volume, an assembly of highly distinguished experts and leaders in alcohol addiction research provides lucid presentations of the current knowledge and research challenges as well as interesting viewpoints on future research directions aimed to stimulate communication and convergence between clinical and preclinical researchers, and to renew interest in the vibrant field of alcohol addiction research among a wide scientifically minded audience. Five Current Topics are discussed in this volume: Neurobiological mechanisms of alcoholism, Genetics, Clinical phenotypes and their preclinical models, Brain imaging, and Translational approaches for treatment development, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological. These areas have in our opinion brought alcohol research substantially forward and influenced our thinking about how to reach our common paramount goal, namely to offer effective treatment solutions for an extensive group of patients with largely unmet medical needs.

From the reviews:“Wolfgang Sommer and Rainer Spanagel have gathered 24 articles that address alcohol addiction from a biological perspective. The book is divided into five sections, each of which presents a particular focus. … Many chapters of this volume are clearly written for the serious and knowledgeable researcher, in the esoteric languages of chemistry and neuroscience. … Several chapters offer more accessible language and concepts, and the final section, Part Five, offers the most useful information to nonresearchers.” (Andrew Nocita, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 58 (26), June, 2013)“This book presents the current state of our knowledge and details the challenges in clinical and preclinical research into alcohol dependence and abuse. … intended audience includes readers familiar with both clinical and preclinical research in alcohol addiction. It is extremely useful for those who need to gain a better understanding of the available behavioral neurobiology research demonstrating biological and behavioral underpinnings of addiction as well as the rationale for current and future pharmacological interventions for this disease. … a welcome addition to most libraries.” (Michael Easton, Doody's Book Reviews, February, 2013)