• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.603-611
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• 2007

Initially, this study was to develop reliable and effective alcohol-associated visual cues. Alcoholic picture cues were chosen from the Normative Appetitive Picture System (NAPS). Additional images consisted of Korean beer and mild liquor was pre-tested to select the pictures that would induce craving most intensely. The images that recorded the highest scores on a scale were chosen through the pre-test. And then, the reliability and validity were examined for the selected alcohol cues from NAPS and pre-test via another psychometric test. Secondly, the study was to investigate differences in craving between subjects with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and non-alcoholic control subjects when exposed to the alcohol visual cues. Alcohol abusers with AUD (n=9) and demographically similar non-abusers (n=9) participated in this study. After given 5cc of alcohol, subjects were exposed to different types of stimuli (i.e., alcohol, nonalcoholic beverage, and visual control pictures and one rest (cross-hair)). Craving levels were rated through self-report on a Likert scale immediately after the presentation of visual cues. Results showed statistically significant differences between the AUD group and the control group in the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) scores, pre-sip and post-sip alcohol craving. Also, the AUD group showed significantly a higher level of craving during alcohol cues compared to the control group. In conclusion, alcohol craving induced by alcohol cues among subjects with AUD was found to be different from that of non-abusers.