Letters COMMENT & RESPONSE
Relapse in Alcohol Use Disorder To the Editor The recent report by Seo and colleagues1 is an important contribution to our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of relapse in alcohol use disorder. The accompanying editorial2 offered a useful interpretation and placed this current study in the context of our emerging understanding of the neural bases of preference weighting and decision making. However, the editorial was cowritten by the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and another NIDA scientist, while the study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and was focused entirely on individuals with alcohol use disorder, not other substance use disorders. Nora Volkow, MD, the director of NIDA, is well recognized for her research and expertise on the functional neuroimaging of cocaine and other intoxicants, but her work regarding alcohol use is relatively minimal. I write this letter not to disparage her or NIDA but rather to point out that the journal editors made a rather odd choice when there are many qualified NIAAAfunded neuroscientists available to write the editorial. Given the recent contentious proposal to merge NIDA and NIAAA (a move many in the alcohol research community viewed as an attempt by NIDA to annex NIAAA), it would have seemed much more appropriate to seek an editorial by scientists at NIAAA or at least primary alcohol researchers with NIAAA support. Mark L. Willenbring, MD Author Affiliation: Alltyr, Inc: Transforming Treatment for Addictions, St Paul, Minnesota.
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Corresponding Author: Mark L. Willenbring, MD, Alltyr, Inc: Transforming Treatment for Addictions, 332 Minnesota St, Ste W1255, St Paul, MN 55101 ([email protected]). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported. 1. Seo D, Lacadie CM, Tuit K, Hong KI, Constable RT, Sinha R. Disrupted ventromedial prefrontal function, alcohol craving, and subsequent relapse risk. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013;70(7):727-739. 2. Volkow ND, Baler RD. Brain imaging biomarkers to predict relapse in alcohol addiction. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013;70(7):661-663.
In Reply We thank Dr Willenbring for pointing out some of the criteria that we use in selecting editorialists for comments on articles to be published in JAMA Psychiatry. First, we want someone who is a first-rate scientist and who has a sophisticated appreciation of the experimental and clinical issues. Second, we generally choose someone who is not in the exact same field of study so that he or she can bring a different perspective than that of the authors. We were pleased that Dr Volkow, who is not only the director of NIDA but also a very active scientist in the area of addictions and brain imaging, took the time to write this very insightful editorial. Scientific factors and not politics motivated our choice of Dr Volkow. Joseph T. Coyle, MD Dost Ongur, MD, PhD Author Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts (Coyle); McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts (Ongur). Corresponding Author: Joseph T. Coyle, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA 02478 ([email protected]). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.
JAMA Psychiatry November 2013 Volume 70, Number 11
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Relapse in Alcohol Use Disorder To the Editor The recent report by Seo and colleagues1 is an important contribution to our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of relapse in alcohol use disorder. The accompanying editorial2 offered a useful interpretation and placed this current study in the context of our emerging understanding of the neural bases of preference weighting and decision making. However, the editorial was cowritten by the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and another NIDA scientist, while the study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and was focused entirely on individuals with alcohol use disorder, not other substance use disorders. Nora Volkow, MD, the director of NIDA, is well recognized for her research and expertise on the functional neuroimaging of cocaine and other intoxicants, but her work regarding alcohol use is relatively minimal. I write this letter not to disparage her or NIDA but rather to point out that the journal editors made a rather odd choice when there are many qualified NIAAAfunded neuroscientists available to write the editorial. Given the recent contentious proposal to merge NIDA and NIAAA (a move many in the alcohol research community viewed as an attempt by NIDA to annex NIAAA), it would have seemed much more appropriate to seek an editorial by scientists at NIAAA or at least primary alcohol researchers with NIAAA support. Mark L. Willenbring, MD Author Affiliation: Alltyr, Inc: Transforming Treatment for Addictions, St Paul, Minnesota.
1248
Corresponding Author: Mark L. Willenbring, MD, Alltyr, Inc: Transforming Treatment for Addictions, 332 Minnesota St, Ste W1255, St Paul, MN 55101 ([email protected]). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported. 1. Seo D, Lacadie CM, Tuit K, Hong KI, Constable RT, Sinha R. Disrupted ventromedial prefrontal function, alcohol craving, and subsequent relapse risk. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013;70(7):727-739. 2. Volkow ND, Baler RD. Brain imaging biomarkers to predict relapse in alcohol addiction. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013;70(7):661-663.
In Reply We thank Dr Willenbring for pointing out some of the criteria that we use in selecting editorialists for comments on articles to be published in JAMA Psychiatry. First, we want someone who is a first-rate scientist and who has a sophisticated appreciation of the experimental and clinical issues. Second, we generally choose someone who is not in the exact same field of study so that he or she can bring a different perspective than that of the authors. We were pleased that Dr Volkow, who is not only the director of NIDA but also a very active scientist in the area of addictions and brain imaging, took the time to write this very insightful editorial. Scientific factors and not politics motivated our choice of Dr Volkow. Joseph T. Coyle, MD Dost Ongur, MD, PhD Author Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts (Coyle); McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts (Ongur). Corresponding Author: Joseph T. Coyle, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA 02478 ([email protected]). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.
JAMA Psychiatry November 2013 Volume 70, Number 11
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