Interoception and alcohol: Mechanisms, networks, and implications

Neuropharmacology. 2021 Sep 22:108807. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108807. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTInteroception refers to the perception of the internal state of the body and is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in mental health disorders. Drugs of abuse produce powerful interoceptive states that are upstream of behavior that drive and influence intake, and addiction pathology is impacted by interoceptive processes. The goal of the present review is to discuss interoceptive processes related to alcohol. We will cover physiological responses to alcohol, how interoceptive states can impact drinking, and the recruitment of brain networks as informed by clinical research. We also review the molecular and brain circuitry mechanisms of alcohol interoceptive effects as informed by preclinical studies. Finally, we will discuss emerging treatments with consideration of interoception processes. As our understanding of the role of interoception in drug and alcohol use grows, we suggest that the convergence of information provided by clinical and preclinical studies will be increasingly important. Given the complexity of interoception processing and the multitude of brain regions involved, an overarching network-based framework can provide context for how focused manipulations modulate interoceptive processing as a whole. In turn, preclinical studies can systematically determine the roles of individual nodes and their molecular underpinnings in a given networ...
Source: Neuropharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Source Type: research