| Affiliation: | 1. From the, Department of Physiology and Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center, (SE, NWG), LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana;2. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), (LFV), Intramural Research Program (IRP), Baltimore, Maryland;3. Department of Psychiatry, (MW), Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland Department of Psychiatry, (MW), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan;4. Department of Psychology, (KW), University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Abstract: | Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and chronic pain are enduring and devastating conditions that share an intersecting epidemiology and neurobiology. Chronic alcohol use itself can produce a characteristic painful neuropathy, while the regular analgesic use of alcohol in the context of nociceptive sensitization and heightened affective pain sensitivity may promote negative reinforcement mechanisms that underlie AUD maintenance and progression. The goal of this review was to provide a broad translational framework that communicates research findings spanning preclinical and clinical studies, including a review of genetic, molecular, behavioral, and social mechanisms that facilitate interactions between persistent pain and alcohol use. We also consider recent evidence that will shape future investigations into novel treatment mechanisms for pain in individuals suffering from AUD. |
