M-CPP PET SCANNING IN ALCOHOLISM: EFFECTS OF SERTRALINE

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. A significant body of preclinial and clinical work demonstrates the involvement of the serotonin system in alcoholism. Recent publication of two successful clinical trials of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (e.g. sertraline or Zoloft) holds signicicant promise for the field. Both of these studies depended upon the division of their alcoholic patients into subgroups to reveal the medications' efficacy. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, to determine the effect of a chemical called serotonin in the brains of people with alcohol abuse problems and to see if measurements of serotonin functioning can help predict who will respond successfully to treatment. Second, to study whether the medication Sertraline, which works with the brain's serotonin system, is effective in the treatment of people with alcohol abuse problems.