Acute cannabidiol administration reduces alcohol craving and cue-induced nucleus accumbens activation in individuals with alcohol use disorder

• Verfasst von: Vetter, Sina [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Teetzmann, Anton [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Baeßler, Joscha [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Schreckenberger, Lena [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Zaiser, Judith [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Pfisterer, Marlen [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Stenger, Manuel [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Bach, Patrick [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Acute cannabidiol administration reduces alcohol craving and cue-induced nucleus accumbens activation in individuals with alcohol use disorder
• Titelzusatz: the double-blind randomized controlled ICONIC trial
• Verf.angabe: Sina Zimmermann, Anton Teetzmann, Joscha Baeßler, Lena Schreckenberger, Judith Zaiser, Marlen Pfisterer, Manuel Stenger and Patrick Bach
• E-Jahr: 2024
• Jahr: 12 December 2024
• Umfang: 8 S.
• Illustrationen: Illustrationen
• Fussnoten: Online veröffentlicht: 12. Dezember 2024 ; Gesehen am 12.03.2025
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Molecular psychiatry
• Ort Quelle: [London] : Springer Nature, 1997
• Jahr Quelle: 2025
• Band/Heft Quelle: 30(2025), 6, Seite 2612-2619
• ISSN Quelle: 1476-5578
• DOI: doi:10.1038/s41380-024-02869-y
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Addiction
• Sach-SW: Drug discovery
• Sach-SW: Neuroscience
• K10plus-PPN: 1919617302

Abstract

Although alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent, only a few medications are approved for its treatment leaving much room for improvement. Cannabidiol (CBD) might be a particularly promising candidate, with preclinical data suggesting that CBD is effective in targeting AUD symptoms and disease processes that drive alcohol use and relapse, due to its anti-craving, stress-reducing, and anti-compulsive effects. Here we report data from the double-blind randomized controlled ICONIC trial that compared the effects of a single dose of 800 mg cannabidiol against placebo (PLC) in N = 28 individuals with AUD. Cue-induced nucleus accumbens (NAc) activation, alcohol craving during a combined stress- and alcohol cue exposure session, as well as craving during an fMRI alcohol cue-reactivity task and CBD plasma levels served as outcomes. Individuals receiving CBD showed lower bilateral cue-induced NAc activation (tleft_NAc(23) = 4.906, p < 0.001, d = 1.15; tright_NAc (23) = 4.873, p < 0.001, d = 1.13) and reported significantly lower alcohol craving after a combined stress- and alcohol cue exposure session (Fgroup(1,26) = 4.516, p = 0.043, eta2 = 0.15) and during the fMRI cue-reactivity task (Fgroup(1,24) = 6.665, p = 0.015, eta2 = 0.23). CBD levels were significantly higher in the CBD group (t(25) = 3.808, p < 0.001, d = 1.47) and showed a significant negative association with alcohol craving during the cue exposure experiment (r = −0.394, pFDR = 0.030) and during fMRI (r = −0.389, pFDR = 0.030), and with left and right NAc activation (rleft_NAc = −0.459, pFDR = 0.030; rright_NAc = −0.405, pFDR = 0.030). CBD’s capacity to reduce stress- and cue-induced alcohol craving and to normalize NAc activation - a region critical to the pathophysiology of AUD - contribute to understanding the neurobiological basis of its clinical effects and support its potential as a treatment option for AUD. Clinical Trials Registry: DRKS00029993.