Effects of alcohol cue exposure on response inhibition in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: There is evidence that exerting self-control during alcohol craving can diminish performance on subsequent tasks that require self-control. Based on the resource depletion model (Muraven and Baumeister, 2000), we examined the influence of alcohol cue exposure on detoxified alcohol-dependent patients' ability to inhibit ongoing responses.

Methods: Twenty alcohol-dependent patients were randomly assigned to an alcohol-cue exposure and a control-cue exposure condition and thereafter had to perform an inhibition task (i.