Behavioral economic analyses recently have been extended to alcohol drinking among college students. The current study used a hypothetical alcohol purchase task (APT) to assess the effects of academic constraints (next-day class time and next-day class requirement) on alcohol demand among college students. Participants were asked to read a description of a drinking scenario and indicate how many standard drinks they would consume at a variety of prices. In Experiment 1, 164 participants (71% female) were randomly assigned to one of three "academic constraint" conditions, for which the scenario included a next-day class that differed by scheduled time (8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., or 12:30 p.m.), or a control condition (no next-day class). Exponential demand analyses revealed that participants in all three of the academic constraint conditions reported fewer drinks consumed and displayed lower "essential value" of alcohol, or greater sensitivity to price increases, compared with the no-constraint control. In Experiment 2, 66 participants (80.3% female) were randomly divided into four groups and received one of four versions of the APT, manipulated to examine class time and class requirement (8:30 a.m. class, 8:30 a.m. exam, 12:30 p.m. class, 12:30 p.m. exam). Exponential demand analyses revealed that the essential value of alcohol was lower for the two 8:30 a.m. conditions compared with the 12:30 p.m. conditions and was lowest for participants in the 8:30 a.m. exam condition compared with the other three. These results suggest that academic requirements may reduce alcohol demand among college students.

Methadone and cigarette puffs appear to be asymmetric economic complements.

Binge drinking (BD), i.e., consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, is an increasing public health issue. Though no clear definition has been adopted worldwide the speed of drinking seems to be a keystone of this behavior. Developing relevant animal models of BD is a priority for gaining a better characterization of the neurobiological and psychobiological mechanisms underlying this dangerous and harmful behavior. Until recently, preclinical research on BD has been conducted mostly using forced administration of alcohol, but more recent studies used scheduled access to alcohol, to model more voluntary excessive intakes, and to achieve signs of intoxications that mimic the human behavior. The main challenges for future research are discussed regarding the need of good face validity, construct validity and predictive validity of animal models of BD.

Choice analyses, especially R. J. Herrnstein's (1961, 1970) matching law, have recently been extended to substance abuse and drug research. The experiment reported here used a limited-access paradigm to engender ethanol consumption in Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus). After stable ethanol consumption was established, several 2-bottle choice tests were run. Relative volumes of solutions consumed were compared to relative ethanol concentrations as an application of the matching law. The formula for the generalized matching law confirmed that although biases varied, they were small, and more important, sensitivities to the relative concentrations were positive in 24 of 28 subjects. The results also revealed a high positive correlation between baseline ethanol consumption (g/kg) and subsequently assessed sensitivity. Overall, these findings suggest that a matching law analysis can be useful for examining ethanol intake in randomly bred rats.

Background: Behavioral economic approaches have revealed several characteristics of alcohol demand (e.g., intensity, elasticity, and essential value) in university students; however, these approaches have not yet examined alcohol demand among students outside of the United States. The current study examined alcohol demand among student samples in the United States and France using a hypothetical alcohol purchase task (APT) and a novel APT Choice task, in which nonalcoholic beverages were concurrently available at a fixed low price.Methods: Participants at each site (United States, n = 132; France, n = 132) were asked to complete an Internet-based survey including the APT, APT Choice, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Daily Drinking Questionnaire, and Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Short Form. Group demand functions were produced for each of the 2 samples in both country-specific and standardized drink units, and the exponential demand equation was fitted to each of the APT and APT Choice demand curves. Slope analyses were performed on the Non-Alcoholic Cross-Price demand to assess substitutability.Results: APT data revealed that in both samples, alcohol price and consumption were inversely related and demand measures were significantly associated with other alcohol measures. In addition, the availability of a nonalcoholic alternative reduced alcohol demand in both samples, with evidence of substitutability revealed by increases in cross-price consumption.Conclusions: Low-cost alcohol is associated with increased alcohol consumption in both French and U.S. university students, and concurrent availability of a nonalcoholic beverage within the APT both reduces alcohol demand and demonstrates behavioral economic substitutability. These findings will inform future studies investigating behavioral and environmental factors underlying transcultural differences and specific prevention efforts.

Behavioral economic principles have been useful for addressing strategies to reduce alcohol consumption among college students. For example, academic variables (such as class schedule or academic rigor) have been found to affect alcohol demand assessed with a hypothetical alcohol purchase task (APT). The present studies used the APT to address the effects of 2 academic variables: next-day course level (no class, introductory level or upper level) and class size (no class, 30-student or 12-student). In each of 2 experiments, undergraduate participants read a description of a drinking context (either a no-class control version or 1 of the academic constraint conditions) and were asked to indicate how many drinks they would purchase at a variety of prices. Hursh and Silberberg's (2008) exponential demand equation was used to determine intensity and elasticity of demand, and Hursh and Roma's (2015) essential value (EV) parameter was calculated to assess essential value. In both experiments, a next-day class reduced alcohol demand, and alcohol consumption decreased as drink price increased. The presence of a smaller next-day class reduced alcohol demand compared with a larger next-day class; however, course level did not differentially affect alcohol demand. These results suggest that smaller next-day classes may reduce alcohol demand among college students and also provide initial evidence for the reliability of EV across studies. (PsycINFO Database Record

The results suggest that differences between P and NP rats exist at ethanol concentrations lower than those previously studied in continuous-access paradigms. They also provide a current description of the ranges of ethanol concentrations preferred by P, NP, and SD rats.

Background Delay discounting (DD) is a measure of impulsivity that quantifies preference for a small reward delivered immediately over a large reward delivered after a delay. It has been hypothesized that impulsivity is an endophenotype associated with increased risk for development of alcohol use disorders (AUDs); however, a causal role of impulsivity is difficult to determine with human studies. We tested this hypothesis by assessing the degree of DD present in alcohol-naïve rats selectively bred for either high or low alcohol preference. Methods A novel adaptation of a within-sessions DD procedure was used to compare impulsivity differences between male alcohol-preferring (P) and non-preferring (NP) rat lines (n = 6 per line) using a 5% sucrose reward. Animals chose between two options: 2-sec sipper tube access delivered immediately (small reward) or 8-sec access after a variable delay (large reward). Each 50-min session consisted of 5 blocks of 10 60-sec trials. Within each session, the delay to the large reward increased in each block of trials. Delays were gradually increased over 3 sets to attain a final delay set of 3, 8, 15, 18, and 25 sec. Results Prior to starting delays, there were no significant differences between lines in sucrose consumption or percent choice for the large reward, and both lines exhibited a clear preference for the large reward. After delays were initiated, choice for the large reward decreased as the delay to its presentation increased. Although discounting of the large, delayed reward was observed for both lines, the degree of discounting, or “impulsivity,” was greater for P rats compared with NP rats. Conclusions P rats are more impulsive for sucrose rewards before exposure to alcohol compared with NP rats. Thus, individuals genetically predisposed toward developing AUDs may be more likely to engage in impulsive decision-making prior to alcohol exposure.