Dissociation of wanting and liking for alcohol in humans: a test of the incentive-sensitisation theory
Abstract
Rationale Incentive sensitisation theory (IST) claims that the mechanism of reward is comprised of separate neurobiological systems of wanting and liking, that dependent drug use occurs as a result of sensitisation of the system controlling wanting, and that the two systems can be dissociated.Objective To test the IST prediction that wanting and liking for alcohol can be dissociated in humans.Methods Measures of wanting and liking for alcohol were obtained in three experiments. Experiment 1 examined whether liking for alcohol was associated with levels of wanting, as indexed by self-reported weekly alcohol intake. Experiments 2 and 3 also assessed the association between liking and wanting but in these experiments wanting was also indexed by alcohol consumption in the laboratory. Experiment 2 increased wanting for alcohol using an alcohol priming dose to determine whether liking would be similarly affected. Experiment 3 reduced liking for alcohol by adulterating drinks with Tween to see whether wanting would also be reduced.Results Little evidence for an association between liking and wanting for alcohol was found in Experiments 1-3 but, collapsing across all experiments, a weak positive correlation between liking and wanting was found. However, in Experiment 2, wanting was increased by the alcohol priming dose whereas liking was not and in Experiment 3 liking was reduced without a concurrent reduction in wanting.Conclusions Although correlations between wanting and liking can be observed these results support the contention of the IST that wanting and liking for alcohol can be dissociated in human participants.
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In humans, a dissociation has been found between 'liking' and 'wanting' for alcohol where small doses of alcohol cause spikes in 'wanting' yet leave 'liking' unaffected, and heavy drinkers show higher sensitivity to alcohol's stimulating and rewarding effects.
“Similarly in humans, a dissociation has been found between ‘liking’ and ‘wanting’ for alcohol where small doses of alcohol cause spikes in ‘wanting’ yet leave ‘liking’ unaffected (Hobbs, Remington, & Glautier, 2005; Ostafin, Marlatt, & Troop-Gordon, 2010), and heavy drinkers show higher sensitivity to alcohol’s stimulating and rewarding effects (A. C. King, Hasin, O'Connor, McNamara, & Cao, 2016).”
From Cued for Risk: Evidence for an Incentive Sensitization Framework to Explain the Interplay between Stress and Anxiety, Substance Abuse, and Reward Uncertainty in Disordered Gambling Behavior (2019) · cites this paper as Hobbs, Remington, & Glautier, 2005
Human studies in this area have been limited to retrospective patient reports, post mortem brain tissue methods, or cross-sectional laboratory paradigms, none of which directly measure alcohol responses in the same individuals over time.
“Human studies in this area have been limited to retrospective patient reports(23), post mortem brain tissue methods(24), or cross-sectional laboratory paradigms(2, 3, 25–29), none of which directly measure alcohol responses in the same individuals over time.”
From A Prospective 5-Year Re-examination of Alcohol Response in Heavy Drinkers Progressing in Alcohol Use Disorder (2016) · cites this paper as [26]
Previous studies relying on proxy measures of brain-behavior relationships to alcohol response have not been able to address within-person changes or stabilization in alcohol response over time.
“Previous studies relying on proxy measures of brain-behavior relationships to alcohol response(2, 3, 23–29) have not been able to address within-person changes or stabilization in alcohol response over time.”
From A Prospective 5-Year Re-examination of Alcohol Response in Heavy Drinkers Progressing in Alcohol Use Disorder (2016) · cites this paper as [26]
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References 25 · Cited by 70
- Authors
- Hobbs, M., Remington, B., & Glautier, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Southampton (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Glautier, Steven
- Venue
- Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2004-10-23
- Volume
- 178
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 493-499
- ISSN
- 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-2072
- OpenAlex
- W1984285295
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- wanting, liking, alcohol, reward systems, alcohol priming, alcohol consumption, alcoholism
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholic Beverages, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Psychological Theory
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