Alcohol dependence is a chronic disease that affects about 3 to 8% of the population. It causes great suffering for the individual and relatives and is a major social problem. This complex disease involves an annual cost of approximately SEK 150 billion in Sweden and there is a great need to develop adequate treatment strategies. Our and others' research has shown that alcohol interacts with brain neurotransmitters in a very complex way. The goal of our translational research is to increase the understanding of the mechanisms involved in alcohol dependence and to create the conditions for the development of new and better drugs. Recently, we have shown that the appetite-stimulating peptide ghrelin and its receptor are potential targets for the development of new treatment strategies for alcohol dependence. This is a completely new approach to research on alcohol addiction and its treatment and may provide new ideas for drugs to treat drug addiction. We are now investigating whether ghrelin and its receptor are important for several aspects of alcohol dependence such as relapse, motivation and drug craving. The possibility that alcohol interacts directly with the ghrelin receptor and causes epigenetic changes is also being studied. Genetic changes in genes expressing ghrelin and its receptor are being investigated in populations with different addiction states. This knowledge is of utmost importance for the development of new pharmacological agents for the treatment of addiction disorders.