A general hypothesis for the loss of control over ethanol drinking could be extended from the drug addiction field that considers impaired inhibitory control from cortical circuits as a root cause of the compulsive drug taking. Impaired inhibitory control over ethanol drinking could then simply arise from a reduced ability by the cortex to engage subcortical inhibitory circuits that restrain reward seeking. As such, cortical circuits mediating volitional control over behavior could be rendered less effective in suppressing a well-learned stimulus-response that gets then reliably triggered as an automated motor response. Alternatively, an enhancement in the ability of cues/stimuli to trigger the behavioral response (ethanol seeking/taking) could be equally effective in shifting the balance of “go”/”no-go” subcortical circuits and weakening the influence of the cortical circuits in mediating behavioral inhibition.
