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Biology of Tolerance and Dependence

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Medical and Social Aspects of Alcohol Abuse

Abstract

Alcoholism is a heterogeneous phenomenon that involves maladaptive behavior, medical complications, and cultural attitudes, but all realistic definitions of alcoholism include reference to an individual’s tolerance to and dependence on ethanol (see Chapter 1). Alcohol tolerance and dependence, however, are not unidimen-sional entities; therefore it will be the purpose of this chapter to introduce the reader to the various facets of tolerance and dependence on ethanol, to discuss the implications of tolerance and dependence in promoting aberrant drinking behavior and alcohol-induced pathologies, and to describe the current treatment approaches used to manage the acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Westside Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, 60612, USA

    Boris Tabakoff

  2. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research and Training Program, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at the Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, 60680, USA

    Boris Tabakoff

  3. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at the Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, 60680, USA

    Jeffrey D. Rothstein

Authors
  1. Boris Tabakoff
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  2. Jeffrey D. Rothstein
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Alcohol Drug Abuse Research and Training Program, University of Illinois at the Medical Center and Westside Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Boris Tabakoff

  2. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Lousiana, USA

    Patricia B. Sutker

  3. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

    Carrie L. Randall

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© 1983 Plenum Press, New York

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Tabakoff, B., Rothstein, J.D. (1983). Biology of Tolerance and Dependence. In: Tabakoff, B., Sutker, P.B., Randall, C.L. (eds) Medical and Social Aspects of Alcohol Abuse. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4436-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4436-0_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4438-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4436-0

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