Pharmacological treatment of substance dependence from a neuroscientific perspective (II): alcohol, benzodiazepines and nicotine

Abstract

The second part of this review deals with those neuroscientific aspects specific to the development and maintenance of dependence of three substances, two legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco) and a group of medications with abuse potential, benzodiazepines. Based on this context, the different pharmacological treatments of alcohol dependence, both related to detoxification and dehabituation, are discussed first. Treatment of the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, together with the most outstanding aspects in the recent literature on relapse prevention, are reviewed. The publications on the treatment of nicotine dependence, both on replacement therapies and on bupropion, are analyzed. Finally, a critical reflection of the sources used to conduct this two-part review is done.