Alcohol consumption is a global phenomenon characterized by its pleasurable effects in social and personal settings. Physiologically, alcohol consumption is guided by the motivational incentive of the substance controlled by the mesolimbic pathway involving mainly the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA)1. People will generally drink alcohol for two reasons: (a) to feel better (reward drinking), or (b) not to feel bad (relief drinking)2–4. It is therefore not surprising that alcohol dependence is associated with one or more simultaneously present co-morbidities, especially mood disorders (27.6%), anxiety disorders (23.5%), and personality disorders (39.5%)5,6. In reward-drinking, an increase in the consumption of alcohol increases the release of dopamine and endogenous opioids in the brain, creating a feeling of reward1. However, excessive consumption of alcohol leads to alcohol dependence, which is characterized by impaired control over drinking, compulsive drinking, preoccupation with drinking, etc.7. Development of alcohol dependence involves a series of behavioral and neurophysiological events such as increased tolerance to alcohol itself, which leads to (1) increased consumption to obtain the same pleasure; (2) a clear dissociation between “liking” the
