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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2018;248:369–396. doi: 10.1007/164_2018_92

Figure 2. Neuroimmune Contributions to the Cycle of Addiction.

Figure 2

The three main stages of the cycle of addiction-binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/craving-each have neuroimmune contributions. Multiple neuroimmune interventions reduce alcohol self-administration in rodent models. Binge intoxication causes the induction of several immune signaling molecules such as HMGB1, TNFα, and IL-1β. Neuroimmune molecules might also mediate some of the negative affect seen during withdrawal. The TLR4 antagonist (+)-Naltrexone reduces alcohol-induced conditioned-place preference (a feature of craving), and several immune molecules in plasma have been associated with craving in human alcoholics. See References: [119, 121, 126, 181, 189, 211, 212]