This paper attempts to summarize the measurement of craving with four different craving instruments and to relate this to definitions and measurement of relapse. The definitions of relapse may vary between studies and researchers, but are usually well defined. Five commonly used methods to measure relapse are: (1) quantity/frequency of drinking; (2) cumulative duration of abstinence (CDA); (3) ...

BACKGROUND Frequent relapses in opioid addiction may be a result of abstinentemergent craving. Exposure to various stimuli associated with drug use (drug cues) may trigger craving as a conditioned response to 'drug cues'. AIMS The present study explored the effects of imagery cue exposure on psychophysiological mechanisms of craving, viz. autonomic arousal, in detoxified opiate addicts. MET...

BACKGROUND Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that specific brain areas are associated with alcohol craving including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We tested whether modulation of DLPFC using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could alter alcohol craving in patients with alcohol dependence while being exposed to alcohol cues. METHODS We performed a randomized...

Little is known about the specific neural mechanisms through which cognitive factors influence craving and associated brain responses, despite the initial success of cognitive therapies in treating drug addiction. In this study, we investigated how cognitive factors such as beliefs influence subjective craving and neural activities in nicotine-addicted individuals using model-based functional m...

Craving for alcohol is common among alcohol-dependent people. Accordingly, measures to assess craving can play important roles in alcohol research as well as in alcoholism treatment. When developing or employing craving-assessment instruments, researchers and clinicians must consider numerous factors, such as the specific characteristics of craving to be evaluated, the instrument's psychometric...

The study aimed to investigate different factors of vulnerability for pathological buying in the online context and to determine whether online pathological buying has parallels to a specific Internet addiction. According to a model of specific Internet addiction by Brand and colleagues, potential vulnerability factors may consist of a predisposing excitability from shopping and as mediating va...

We assessed craving and smoking in response to smoking-relevant cues. Two hundred seven daily smokers viewed images related to 1 of 6 cue sets (cigarettes, positive and negative affect, alcohol, smoking prohibitions, and neutral cues) in separate sessions. Compared with neutral cues, cigarette cues significantly increased craving, and positive affect cues significantly decreased craving. When s...

Craving is considered a key characteristic of diverse pathologies, but evidence suggests it may be a culture-bound construct. Almost 50% of American women crave chocolate specifically around the onset of menstruation. Research does not support popular accounts implicating physiological factors in menstrual chocolate craving etiology. We tested the novel hypothesis that greater menstrual craving...

Craving is a strong desire to consume that emerges in every case of substance addiction. Previous studies have shown that eliciting craving with an exposure cues protocol can be a useful option for the treatment of nicotine dependence. Thus, the main goal of this study was to develop a virtual platform in order to induce craving in smokers. Fifty-five undergraduate students were randomly assign...

Cravings represent strong motivational states that are characterized by intense desires typically relating to the anticipation of consuming pleasure-producing substances or engaging in hedonic behaviors. In considering food craving and the extent of its applicability to food, a brief review of the history of craving within a culture-sensitive framework appears warranted. Many cultures appear to...