ReviewPsychopharmacology2013
Glutamatergic targets for new alcohol medications.
Review in Psychopharmacology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 115 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
115 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 194 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation in reducing craving in patients with alcohol use disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- OMEGA-3 Interventions in Alcohol Dependence and Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Propositions.Current neuropharmacology · 2020Pooled it
- Alteration in AMPA receptor subunit expression and receptor binding among patients with addictive disorders: A systematic review of human postmortem studies.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2019Pooled it
- Negative Allosteric Modulators of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Subtype 5 in Addiction: a Therapeutic Window.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2016Pooled it
- Precision Medicine in Alcohol Dependence: A Controlled Trial Testing Pharmacotherapy Response Among Reward and Relief Drinking Phenotypes.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Effect of Intravenous Ethanol on Capsaicin-Induced Hyperalgesia in Human Subjects.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2016Trial
- N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonism has differential effects on alcohol craving and drinking in heavy drinkers.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2015Trial
- GRIK1 genotype moderates topiramate's effects on daily drinking level, expectations of alcohol's positive effects and desire to drink.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2014Trial
- Chronic Alcohol Exposure Alters Expression of GluN3A-NMDA Receptors in Adult VTA DA Neurons.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory protein TARP ɣ-8 is a target of ethanol that regulates self-administration and relapse in mice.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Endothelial NMDA Receptor Involvement in Retinal Neurovascular Damage Following Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in a Mouse Model.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Glutamatergic dysfunction of astrocytes in paraventricular nucleus of thalamus contributes to adult anxiety susceptibility in adolescent ethanol exposed mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- An adolescent hangover: astrocyte dysfunction in paraventricular thalamus promotes adult anxiety after alcohol exposure in adolescent mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Fenofibrate restores glutamatergic and dopaminergic homeostasis in the nucleus accumbens and reduces alcohol relapse in rats.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Alcohol use disorder-associated pain: clinical and preclinical evidence.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- Alcohol-Induced Oxidative Stress and Gut-Liver-Brain Crosstalk: Expanding the Paradigm from ALD to MetALD.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Ethanol self-administration targets GluA2-containing AMPA receptor expression and synaptic activity in the nucleus accumbens in a manner that drives the positive reinforcing properties of the drug.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Serum Metabolite Profile in Progressive Versus Nonprogressive Alcohol-Related Liver Disease: A Cross-Sectional Metabolomics Study.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2025Article
- Acute Alcohol-Induced Changes Measured With Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Positron Emission Tomography.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Pleiotropic Effects ofBiomolecules · 2025Review
55 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleAn increasingly compelling literature points to a major role for the glutamate system in mediating the effects of alcohol on behavior and the pathophysiology of alcoholism. Preclinical studies indicate that glutamate signaling mediates certain aspects of ethanol's intoxicating and rewarding effects, and undergoes adaptations following chronic alcohol exposure that may contribute to the withdrawal, craving and compulsive drug-seeking that drive alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
objectivesWe discuss the potential for targeting the glutamate system as a novel pharmacotherapeutic approach to treating alcohol use disorders, focusing on five major components of the glutamate system: the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and specific NMDA subunits, the glycineB site on the NMDA receptors (NMDAR), L-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-propionic acid ionotropic (AMPA) and kainate (KAR) receptors, metabotropic receptors (mGluR), and glutamate transporters.
resultsChronic alcohol abuse produces a hyperglutamatergic state, characterized by elevated extracellular glutamate and altered glutamate receptors and transporters. Pharmacologically manipulating glutamatergic neurotransmission alters alcohol-related behaviors including intoxication, withdrawal, and alcohol-seeking, in rodents and human subjects. Blocking NMDA and AMPA receptors reduces alcohol consumption in rodents, but side-effects may limit this as a therapeutic approach. Selectively targeting NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits (e.g., GluN2B, GluA3), or the NMDAR glycineB site offers an alternative approach. Blocking mGluR5 potently affects various alcohol-related behaviors in rodents, and mGluR2/3 agonism also suppresses alcohol consumption. Finally, glutamate transporter upregulation may mitigate behavioral and neurotoxic sequelae of excess glutamate caused by alcohol.
conclusionsDespite the many challenges that remain, targeting the glutamate system offers genuine promise for developing new treatments for alcoholism.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.