An examination of the tension reduction hypothesis: The relationship between anxiety and alcohol in college students

Kalodner, Cynthia R.; DeLucia, Janice L.; Ursprung, Alex W.

doi:10.1016/0306-4603(89)90007-5

Cited by 41 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The tension-reduction hypothesis of alcoholism provides a view that stress contributes to alcohol abuse (see Kalodner et al, 1989;Young et al, 1990;Kushner et al, 1994). There has been a prominent resurgence of studies defining the risk of stress on drug abuse and relapse (see Sinha, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress Sensitization of Ethanol Withdrawal-Induced Reduction in Social Interaction: Inhibition by CRF-1 and Benzodiazepine Receptor Antagonists and a 5-HT1A-Receptor Agonist

Breese

Knapp

Overstreet

2003

Neuropsychopharmacol

108

195

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Repeated withdrawals from chronic ethanol sensitize the withdrawal-induced reduction in social interaction behaviors. This study determined whether stress might substitute for repeated withdrawals to facilitate withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behavior. When two 1-h periods of restraint stress were applied at 1-week intervals to rats fed control diet, social interaction was reduced upon withdrawal from a subsequent 5-day exposure to ethanol diet. Neither this ethanol exposure alone nor exposure to three restraint stresses alone altered this measure of anxiety. Further, the repeatedly stressed singly withdrawn rats continued to exhibit a reduction in social interaction 16 days later, upon withdrawal from re-exposure to 5 days of chronic ethanol, consistent with a persistent adaptation by the multiple-stress/withdrawal protocol. Weekly administration of corticosterone in place of stress induced no significant change in social interaction upon withdrawal from the single chronic ethanol exposure, indicative that corticoid release is not responsible for the stress-induced reduction in anxiety-like behavior during withdrawal. In the multiple-withdrawal protocol, stress applied during withdrawal from voluntary ethanol drinking by P-rats facilitated ethanol drinking sufficiently, to induce a withdrawal-induced reduction in social interaction. Administration of a CRF-1 receptor antagonist, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, or a 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist prior to each stress minimized sensitization of the withdrawal-induced reduction in anxiety-like behavior. Since these pharmacological consequences on the induction of anxiety-like behavior following the stress/withdrawal protocol are like those previously seen when these drug treatments were given prior to multiple withdrawals, evidence is provided that repeated stresses and multiple withdrawals sensitize the withdrawal reduction in social interaction by similar central adaptive mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress Sensitization of Ethanol Withdrawal-Induced Reduction in Social Interaction: Inhibition by CRF-1 and Benzodiazepine Receptor Antagonists and a 5-HT1A-Receptor Agonist

Breese

Knapp

Overstreet

2003

Neuropsychopharmacol

108

195

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“…In past studies, Khantzian had proposed that individuals with substance use disorders take drugs as a means of coping with painful or threatening emotions (1990). At the same time, the tension reduction hypothesis of alcohol consumption suggested that increased drinking behavior is related to alcohol’s effects on reducing tension and/or anxiety (Kalodner et al, 1989; Young et al, 1990). For the last decade, Koob and colleagues have explored the theory of negative reinforcement, which suggests a genetic vulnerability for pathologies such as anxiety and depression, that are relieved by alcohol self administration (1993 (1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voluntary alcohol consumption alters stress-induced changes in dopamine-2 receptor binding in Wistar–Kyoto rat brain

Yaroslavsky

Tejani‐Butt

2010

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

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The Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat has been proposed as an animal model of depressive behavior and exhibits hyper-responsiveness to stressful stimulation when compared to other rat strains. We have demonstrated that WKY rats consume 200% more alcohol under naïve conditions as compared to their outbred counterparts, Wistar (WIS) rats. The present study was designed to understand the influence of stress and alcohol consumption on central dopamine type-2 (D2) receptor sites in these two behaviorally distinct rat strains. The first part of this study examined the effects of chronic stress on alcohol consumption, while the second part examined the binding of [125I]-Iodosulpiride to D2 receptors in control, stressed or stress and alcohol co-treated WKY compared to WIS rats. Exposure to chronic stress led to an increase in the amount of alcohol consumed by both rat strains, with WKY rats consuming significantly more alcohol than WIS rats with or without stress exposure. Quantitative autoradiography experiments showed that chronic stress increased D2 receptor binding in the caudate putamen (CPu), nucleus accumbens (NAc), substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of WKY rats, and reduced receptor binding in the CPu and SN of WIS rats. Compared to the stressed-animals, WKY rats co-treated with stress and alcohol demonstrated a reduction in D2 receptor sites in the cell body regions (SN and VTA), while WIS rats showed no changes in receptor binding. The observed changes in D2 receptor sites may indicate altered DA neurotransmission following stress and alcohol exposure. Since stressed WKY rats consumed more alcohol, it is possible that consumption of alcohol reverses the stress-induced D2 receptor alterations in the cell body regions, suggestive of a self medicating phenotype.

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“…Based on the tension-reduction hypothesis, investigators have assumed that increased alcohol intake relates to reducing stress-induced "tension" (Cooper et al 1992;Kalodner et al 1989;Kushner et al 1994;Young et al 1990;Brown et al 1990Brown et al , 1995. However, this concept continues to be a matter of debate as stressors have had mixed effects on alcohol drinking in preclinical studies (Pohorecky 1990;Chester et al 2004;Breese et al 2004a).…”

Section: Stress During Withdrawal From Multiple Alcohol Exposures Incmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptual framework for the etiology of alcoholism: a ?kindling?/stress hypothesis

2004

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Rationale-The rationale for proposing the "kindling"/stress hypothesis is to provide a conceptual basis for the insidious development and maintenance of alcohol abuse.Objective and results-An objective of the hypothesis is to emphasize how continued alcohol abuse is linked to progressive neural adaptation. Work has shown that repeated withdrawals from chronic low levels of alcohol sensitize ("kindle") anxiety-like behavior ("anxiety") in rats, a finding consistent with multiple withdrawal kindling of seizure activity. Additionally, stress substitutes for initial cycles of the multiple withdrawal protocol to sensitize withdrawal-induced anxiety, which is indicative that stress is capable of facilitating neuroadaptive processes related to withdrawal. The persistence of adaptation caused by stress and multiple withdrawals is revealed by the appearance of withdrawal-induced anxiety following a future re-exposure to a single 5-day period of alcohol. This persisting adaptation also permits stress to induce anxiety during a period of abstinence-a response not observed in animals without previous exposure to alcohol. Furthermore, stress interacts with repeated withdrawals to enhance voluntary alcohol drinking. Results of other preclinical and clinical studies reported in the literature are integrated with these investigations in support of the proposed hypothesis.Conclusions-The "kindling"/stress hypothesis is based on the premise that repeated withdrawals from cycles of chronic alcohol exposure contribute to a progressive development of persisting adaptive change that sensitizes withdrawal-induced anxiety and allows stress to evoke symptoms associated with negative affect during abstinence. Thus, these consequences of repeated withdrawals account for the evolution of major characteristics of alcoholism, which include worsened acute withdrawal symptoms and increased stress-induced negative affect during abstinence, both of which enhance the likelihood of relapse-and with relapse an inability to limit an abusive pattern of alcohol intake. The "kindling"/stress hypothesis provides a clear strategy for future studies to explore the advancing neural adaptation proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of alcoholism.

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An examination of the tension reduction hypothesis: The relationship between anxiety and alcohol in college students

Cited by 41 publications

References 19 publications

Stress Sensitization of Ethanol Withdrawal-Induced Reduction in Social Interaction: Inhibition by CRF-1 and Benzodiazepine Receptor Antagonists and a 5-HT1A-Receptor Agonist

Stress Sensitization of Ethanol Withdrawal-Induced Reduction in Social Interaction: Inhibition by CRF-1 and Benzodiazepine Receptor Antagonists and a 5-HT1A-Receptor Agonist

Voluntary alcohol consumption alters stress-induced changes in dopamine-2 receptor binding in Wistar–Kyoto rat brain

Conceptual framework for the etiology of alcoholism: a ?kindling?/stress hypothesis

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