Because study 1 showed significantly higher anxiety in alcohol-dependent patients in the neutral, relaxed condition relative to controls, we assessed whether higher neutral condition anxiety was associated with corticotropin level, cortisol level, cortisol to corticotropin ratio, and craving in study 2. Significant modest associations between anxiety in the neutral, relaxed condition and alcohol craving (stress: r=0.39; P<.001; cue: r=0.40; P<.001; neutral: r=0.50; P<.001), corticotropin (stress: r=0.36; P<.001; cue: r=0.39; P<.001; neutral: r=0.38; P<.001) and cortisol (stress: r=0.30; P<.004; cue: r=0.26; P<.01; neutral: r=0.24; P<.02) levels, but not cortisol to corticotropin ratio, were observed.
