About this Research Topic

Background

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has exacerbated numerous serious social and health problems, including complications of the disease itself, migration, stress, anxiety, and increased drug abuse, reaching unprecedented levels. These issues directly stimulate, or at least substantially contribute to, the rise in drug consumption. Among substances prone to abuse, alcohol (ethanol) stands out as one of the most concerning due to its legality and broad social acceptance. Recently, its consumption has alarmingly extended to non-traditional demographics, including children and women.

The action mechanism of ethanol includes its role as an allosteric positive modulator of GABAA receptors during the intoxication phase of the addiction cycle. This is the same mechanism observed in most historically prescribed anxiolytic medications, such as benzodiazepines. Additionally, ethanol functions as a non-specific glutamatergic antagonist, primarily affecting the withdrawal phase of addiction. Furthermore, interactions between ethanol and other neurotransmitter systems, such as dopaminergic, serotonergic, glycinergic, cannabinoid, and opioid systems, have been observed. This complexity makes ethanol a challenging drug to study in animal models and to treat as a disease in humans.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been approached with several therapeutic strategies. However, its treatment is often challenging due to its refractory nature, which persists despite social or familial support and the use of pharmacological prescriptions. Currently, there are seven drugs approved for treating addiction in the USA since 1954, of which only three are specifically indicated for alcohol dependence, such as disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone. Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved its first medication specifically for treating alcohol dependence, nalmefene, only in 2013. Given the complexity and severity of AUD, various medications, including naloxone and rimonabant, have been tried to manage the condition, with results ranging from acceptable to catastrophic.

Alcohol, with its complex neuropharmacological interactions involving GABAA receptors, glutamate, and multiple neurotransmitter systems, presents unique challenges in both study and treatment modalities. Recently, numerous transmitter and modulator systems in the brain related to AUD have been investigated in basic and preclinical models, yielding promising results. AUD, as an addiction, is a cyclic phenomenon that cannot be explained solely by the rewarding properties of alcohol. Recent and older studies alike aim to explore a broader spectrum of neurotransmitter and neuromodulator systems involved in the intake, withdrawal, and preoccupation phases of AUD.

This Research Topic aims to identify and elucidate potential pharmacological targets in AUD by leveraging insights from recent preclinical studies. The focus is on understanding the molecular and systemic interactions of alcohol that could lead to novel therapeutic strategies beyond conventional treatments.
To gather further insights into the current scientific understanding, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Neurotransmitter system roles in alcohol intake, withdrawal, and craving phases, with a specific focus on systems like dopaminergic, serotonergic, glycinergic, cannabinoid, and opioid.

- Comparative analyses of existing therapeutic agents versus emerging pharmacological targets, including the roles of ghrelin, leptin, neuropeptide-Y (NPY), and orexins.

- Impact of novel modulators on AUD treatment, exploring cholecystokinins, vasopressin, and cannabinoids.

- Cross-system interactions and their implications for addiction mechanics, investigating interactions involving corticotrophin-releasing factors and vasopressin.

- Preclinical models that elucidate complex behavioral responses to alcohol, highlighting the involvement of taurine, CRF, and 5-HT3.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol consumption, GABAA receptor, alcohol use disorder (AUD), therapeutic strategies, neurotransmitter systems, neuropeptides.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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