Can Alcohol Lead to Inhibition or Disinhibition? Applying Alcohol Myopia to Animal Experimentation

Grant, Naomi K.; MacDonald, Tara K.

doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh177

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…It is also known that free flying Africanized honey bees become more aggressive after exposure to ethanol [72]. This loss of control or lack of inhibition is a hallmark of ethanol intoxication in humans and is often referred to as behavioral disinhibition [6], [54], [57], [73]. Neuromodulatory mechanisms underlie behavioral disinhibition in vertebrates [6], [56] and the same neuromodulatory mechanisms are also involved in sting response behavior of honey bee workers [20], [38], [74].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Behavioral disinhibition refers to the release of natural impulses (e.g. sexual, appetitive, social or aggressive drives) from the control of innate or learned inhibitions [54]. Ethanol and other addictive drugs have the common effect of inducing behavioral disinhibition [55], [56].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Behavioral disinhibition is thought to underlie the social and anti-social effects of ethanol such as increased social interactions (i.e. social lubricant), risk-taking and aggressive behavior [54], [57].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethanol-Induced Effects on Sting Extension Response and Punishment Learning in the Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

et al. 2014

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Acute ethanol administration is associated with sedation and analgesia as well as behavioral disinhibition and memory loss but the mechanisms underlying these effects remain to be elucidated. During the past decade, insects have emerged as important model systems to understand the neural and genetic bases of alcohol effects. However, novel assays to assess ethanol's effects on complex behaviors in social or isolated contexts are necessary. Here we used the honey bee as an especially relevant model system since bees are typically exposed to ethanol in nature when collecting standing nectar crop of flowers, and there is recent evidence for independent biological significance of this exposure for social behavior. Bee's inhibitory control of the sting extension response (SER) and a conditioned-place aversion assay were used to study ethanol effects on analgesia, behavioral disinhibition, and associative learning. Our findings indicate that although ethanol, in a dose-dependent manner, increases SER thresholds (analgesic effects), it disrupts the ability of honey bees to inhibit SER and to associate aversive stimuli with their environment. These results suggest that ethanol's effects on analgesia, behavioral disinhibition and associative learning are common across vertebrates and invertebrates. These results add to the use of honey bees as an ethanol model to understand ethanol's effects on complex, socially relevant behaviors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethanol-Induced Effects on Sting Extension Response and Punishment Learning in the Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

et al. 2014

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“…Several mechanisms for a direct alcohol-violence link have been proposed, including the suggestion that alcohol impairs cognition (Grant and Macdonald, 2005) and frontal lobe activity (Lyvers and Tobias-Webb, 2010). There are alternate, less proximal, possible explanations as well.…”

Section: Alcohol and Partner Violence Perpetration In Adults And Adolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drinking Style and Dating Violence in a Sample of Urban, Alcohol-Using Youth

Rothman¹,

Stuart²,

Greenbaum³

et al. 2011

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

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ABSTRACT. Objective: This study examined childhood abuse, problem behavior, drinking style, and dating violence (DV). Our goal was to assess whether (a) alcohol use-related beliefs and behaviors ("drinking style") would be associated with DV perpetration and victimization, (b) drinking style would mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and DV, and (c) the drinking style-DV relationship would be attributable to propensity for problem behavior. Method: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 456 youth ages 14-21 years who were patients in an urban emergency department. Participants were eligible if they were unmarried and reported past-month alcohol use and dating in the past year. By design, the sample was 50% female. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: For both males and females, past-year DV was associated with a more risky drinking style, characterized by more frequent alcohol use, alcohol-aggression expectancies, drinking to cope, and beliefs that alcohol is disinhibiting and that being drunk provides a "time-out" from behavioral expectations. Drinking style mediated the childhood victimization-DV relationship for males and females. However, when propensity for problem behavior was included in the model, the effect of drinking style on DV was no longer significant. Substantial path differences for males and females were observed. Conclusions: The current study examined adolescent drinking style as a potential mediator between childhood victimization and DV. Drinking style was associated with DV for males and females and mediated the relationship between childhood victimization and DV. The relationship between drinking style and DV appeared to refl ect adolescents' propensity for problem behavior. Variations in males' and females' pathways to DV were observed. The implications of these fi ndings are discussed. (J.

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“…One popular notion is that alcohol causes disinhibition, or a release of natural impulses, by eliminating learned inhibitions (Critchlow 1986;Grant and MacDonald 2005). It is common for school administrators and alcohol scholars to point out the dangers of a ''loss of inhibition'' due to alcohol, projecting the message that drinking alcohol will deteriorate decision-making processes leading to dire consequences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting Drunk and Hooking Up: An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Alcohol Intoxication and Casual Coupling in a University Sample

Ven

Beck

2009

Sociological Spectrum

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Can Alcohol Lead to Inhibition or Disinhibition? Applying Alcohol Myopia to Animal Experimentation

Abstract: Disinhibition alone cannot explain alcohol's effects on behaviour. We contend that alcohol myopia theory helps to explain some contradictory findings in the human and animal literature. We encourage animal researchers to develop research paradigms to provide tests of alcohol myopia.

Cited by 12 publications

References 28 publications

Ethanol-Induced Effects on Sting Extension Response and Punishment Learning in the Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Ethanol-Induced Effects on Sting Extension Response and Punishment Learning in the Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Drinking Style and Dating Violence in a Sample of Urban, Alcohol-Using Youth

Getting Drunk and Hooking Up: An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Alcohol Intoxication and Casual Coupling in a University Sample

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