The authors administered 100 micrograms human corticotropin-releasing hormone (h-CRH) to alcohol-dependent subjects after short-term abstention from alcohol abuse and observed that these patients released significantly less adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) than a control group. Cortisol responses were also blunted, but this effect was less pronounced. These findings indicate that hypercortisolism in alcohol withdrawal is driven by a central neurotransmitter/receptor disturbance rather than by peripheral alterations.