Prayer could help people addicted to alcohol experience fewer cravings, according to a new study.

Researchers at the NYU Langone Medical Centre found that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members who recited a prayer after viewing alcohol-related images reported fewer cravings than those who read a newspaper instead.

The study is believed to be the first to explore brain physiology in AA members.

It found that all those who took part in the study reported "some degree of craving for alcohol after viewing the images, and less craving after reciting an AA prayer".

The 12-step AA programme includes prayers that promote abstinence, and the famous adaptation of the Serenity Prayer: "God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

"Our findings suggest that the experience of AA over the years had left these members with an innate ability to use the AA experience – prayer in this case – to minimize the effect of alcohol triggers in producing craving," said Marc Galanter, professor of psychiatry and director of the Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse at NYU Langone.

"Craving is diminished in long-term AA members compared to patients who have stopped drinking for some period of time but are more vulnerable to relapse."

According to the Centre, previous investigations have found that alcohol abusers asked to engage in prayer unrelated to drinking every day for a month drank around half the amount of those who did not pray.