Bet it wouldn’t work in somebody who’d never drunk beer before.
Exactly. The dopamine is likely released as a Pavlovian response based upon the taste and then anticipation of the effect of the alcohol in the beer.
Sheesh. How much did this study cost us?
Correct. Classical conditioning (not operant). Would have been a huge surprise if this DIDN’T happen in conditioned drinkers. No reason whatsoever to do this study unless subjects who had never drank alcohol were included.
My thoughts too - the aroma of a cheeseburger makes me drool much like Pavlov's dogs did when hit with a stimulus that was tied to another stimulus...