IL-6, but not TNF-α, response to alcohol cues and acute consumption associated with neural cue reactivity, craving, and future drinking in binge drinkers.

Objective And Design: Preclinical studies suggest learned immune system responses to alcohol cues and consumption may contribute to alcohol's pharmacodynamic properties and/or Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) pathogenesis. Mechanistically, these immune alterations may be associated with increased craving and alcohol consumption, both acutely and over time. We sought to characterize this relationship in a randomized, counter-balanced, crossover neuroimaging experiment which took place between June 2020-November 2021.