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Pavlov's Progeny Provide Pictures of Alcoholism

Brian Vastag

JAMA. 2004;291:1053-1055.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

New Haven, Conn—Ivan Petrovich Pavlov never had it so good. He may have won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine—but only after collecting buckets of bodily fluids from his famously hungry dogs. A century later, his scientific progeny measure anticipation with brain scans, not drool pans.

The feisty physiologist would likely be pleased. Researchers peeking into the brain with sophisticated imaging are beginning to map the neurobiology of craving. While discovering why alcohol and other drug habits can be so hard to kick, they are also documenting the brain damage caused by alcoholism.

When compared with control teens, teens with drinking disorders display enhanced brain activation (indicated by yellow and orange areas superimposed on this statistical brain map) in response to alcohol advertisements. Yellow indicates the largest between-group differences. (Photo credit: Susan F. Tapert, PhD, University of California, San Diego)

"Clearly, chronic alcohol use . . . [Full Text of this Article]