Bibi ergo sum: the effects of a placebo and contextual alcohol cues on motivation to drink alcohol

Abstract

RationaleAcute ‘priming’ doses of alcohol reliably increase alcohol-seeking behaviour in social drinkers. However, the effects of the anticipated (rather than pharmacological) effects of alcohol, and their interaction with contextual alcohol cues, are not well understood.ObjectivesThis study aims to determine the extent to which an alcohol-placebo drink increases craving, subjective intoxication and beer consumption, while conjointly investigating the impact of contextual alcohol cues.MethodsOn a within-subject basis, 64 undergraduate social drinkers consumed both a placebo (which they believed to contain alcohol) and a control drink (which they knew did not contain alcohol) in different sessions. Participants completed the study procedures in a bar laboratory designed to look like a ‘pub’ or a standard psychology lab containing no alcohol-related cues. Craving (Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire) and subjective intoxication were measured pre- and post-drink, and a bogus taste test to measure ad-lib alcohol consumption was completed at the end of each session.ResultsCompared to the control drink, placebo significantly increased craving, ad-lib consumption and subjective intoxication, regardless of environmental context.ConclusionsIncreased craving and ad-lib alcohol consumption after consuming a priming dose of alcohol is at least partly attributable to the anticipated rather than the pharmacological effects of the priming dose.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00213-016-4518-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The effect of beliefs about alcohol’s acute effects on alcohol priming and alcohol-induced impairments of inhibitory control

“…Study 1 replicated previous research, showing that initial alcohol consumption can increase (prime) alcohol-seeking [ 2 – 5 , 16 , 17 ]]. However, ad lib beer consumption did not differ between alcohol and placebo sessions within study 2, although, craving was higher in the alcohol sessions.…”

“…Consistent with previous work [e.g. 17 , 18 ] the light-headedness scale of the SIS was used as the primary measure of subjective intoxication ( Table 2 ). A 2 x 2 x 3 mixed ANOVA with condition (average-control, high-control) as a between-subject variable and drink (alcohol, placebo) and time (baseline, post-drink and end of session) as within-subject variables revealed there to be a significant drink x time interaction, F (2, 158) = 75.95, p < .001, η p 2 = .49.…”

The influence of groups and alcohol consumption on individual risk-taking

“…In other words, it is suggested that alcohol consumption may, at times, be associated with behaviour change not through intoxication itself but via beliefs and expectancies regarding the effects of intoxication. As such, anticipated effects from consuming an alcohol placebo resulting in behavioural changes may be observed (in line with perceived normative attitudes and behaviour), that are akin to those that may be expected when alcohol is actually consumed (Christiansen et al, 2017). Indeed, in support of this contention, recent research has found placebo alcohol to increase craving, ad libitum alcohol consumption, subjective intoxication (Christiansen et al, 2017), disinhibition, and indirectly, outcome expectancies (Christiansen et al, 2016).…”

“…Firstly, the current study did not include a pure control beverage condition, when participants are aware that they are not consuming alcohol. The anticipated effects of alcohol from a placebo appear to increase alcohol craving and further alcohol consumption above that of a pure control (Christiansen et al, 2017). It may therefore be that a lack of alcohol effect on mood change is in part due to the anticipated effects of alcohol.…”

“…This unexpected finding may have been the result of the increase of subjective intoxication following the placebo beverage (as manipulation checks indicated). It would therefore appear advisable for future alcohol research in this area to include a pure control beverage to enable comparison of both anticipated and pharmacological effects of alcohol in relation to a non-alcohol condition (actual and anticipated) (c.f., Christiansen, Jennings, & Rose, 2016;Christiansen, Townsend, Knibb, & Field, 2017).…”