Alcohol insensitivity and the incentive salience of alcohol: Two decades of work relevant to future directions of the addictions neuro-clinical assessment

In a recent article, Gunawan and colleagues explore how the Incentive Salience (IS) domain in the Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) framework relates to alcohol motivation and alcohol insensitivity. Their findings support previous research suggesting a connection between alcohol insensitivity and the motivation-driven response to alcohol-related cues. This review highlights the importance of understanding how individuals with low alcohol sensitivity (LS) experience stronger reactions to alcohol cues compared to those with high alcohol sensitivity (HS). It also emphasizes the need for more research into the neurobiological underpinnings of these differences, especially through neuroimaging techniques like fMRI. By examining both behavioral and neuro-physiological measures, researchers hope to create more reliable tools for identifying individuals at risk for alcohol use disorders (AUD) and improving clinical assessments. This work lays the groundwork for advancing our understanding of alcohol insensitivity and its role in the development of AUD.