Differences in muscle-tension response to ethanol in young men with and without family histories of alcoholism.

Schuckit, Marc A.; Engstrom, David R.; Alpert, Rebecca T.; Duby, John C.

doi:10.15288/jsa.1981.42.918

Cited by 58 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Because of this, individuals who experience SRD effects are likely to drink with increased frequency and possibly in greater quantity when stressed (Sher 1987). FH+ subjects, in comparison to FH-subjects, have been shown to experience greater reductions in cardiovascular reactivity to stress and lower levels of muscle tension following alcohol consumption, thus supporting the hypothesis that alcohol may be differentially reinforcing for this group (Schuckit et al 1981;Sher and Levenson 1982;Levenson et al 1987). Pihl (1987, 1988) demonstrated that FH+ male subjects with multi-generational family histories rather than single generation FH+ subjects showed significant stress response dampening effects of alcohol.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Stress response dampening: effects of gender and family history of alcoholism and anxiety disorders

1998

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One hundred and fifteen non-alcoholic social drinkers, ages 21-30 years, were selected on the basis of parental history of alcoholism and/or anxiety disorders to participate in a laboratory study of stress response dampening (SRD) effects of alcohol. The following four risk groups were identified based on the diagnoses of both parents: 1) alcoholism (ALC+), (2) alcoholism and anxiety disorder (ALCANX+), (3) anxiety (ANX+), and (4) no psychiatric diagnoses (FH-). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or alcohol (0.85 g/kg) beverage, following which cardiovascular measures and self-reports of anxiety were monitored prior to, during and after a speech stressor. Women with a family history of alcoholism and women with a family history of anxiety disorders showed strong SRD effects of alcohol on heart rate and pulse transit time. Men with a family history of anxiety disorders showed evidence of increased subjective response to stress during the alcohol beverage condition. Finally, SRD effects of alcohol were not found for male subjects, and this was attributed to their heavier drinking histories and lower breath alcohol levels as compared to women. Implications of the SRD effects in women are discussed in the context of the comorbid association between alcoholism and anxiety disorders.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Stress response dampening: effects of gender and family history of alcoholism and anxiety disorders

1998

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“…Moreover, the augmented response to ethanol may provide a neurobiological basis for the Differentiator Model (Newlin and Thomson, 1990), which attempts to explain the apparently differential sensitivity of HR and LR individuals to acute ethanol ingestion. The phenomenon of enhanced acute sensitivity and acute tolerance in HR individuals has been observed in a variety of measures, which include EEG activity (slow alpha; Cohen et al, 1993), ERPs (Porjesz and Begleiter, 1990b), electromyographic activity (Schuckit et al, 1981), psychomotor performance (O'Malley and Maisto, 1985), and autonomic functions (Newlin and Thomson, 1990).…”

Section: Ethanol and Nmda Receptorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatch Negativity in Subjects at High Risk for Alcoholism

Zhang

Cohen

Porjesz

et al. 2001

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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Background:Evidence from P300 studies in both alcohol-dependent and high-risk (HR) individuals suggests that the reduced P300 amplitudes that often characterize these individuals may reflect a deficit in inhibition (hyperexcitability) in the central nervous system. In this context, the mismatch negativity (MMN) was investigated in the male and female HR offspring of alcohol-dependent fathers and a mixed-sex, low-risk (LR) control group.Methods: As subjects read popular materials, they received a random sequence of 500 binaurally presented tones of 600 Hz and 1600 Hz. The designation of the rare stimulus (n ϭ 60 trials) and frequent stimulus (n ϭ 440 trials) was alternated across subjects.Recordings of MMN were made from 61 electrodes; risk group comparisons were restricted to the five frontal midline electrodes: Fpz, Afz, Fz, Fcz, and Cz. The MMN was obtained by calculating the integral of the area under the curve for both the frequent and rare waveforms over an interval from 100 to 190 msec and then subtracting the former from the latter.Results: The primary observation was that MMN responses in the HR group were significantly larger than those in the LR group. In addition, both LR and HR individuals manifested differential responses to the rare and frequent stimuli, and MMN responses in both groups were largest at Fcz and smallest at Fpz.Discussion: The results indicate that individuals at high risk for alcoholism differ electrophysiologically from LR controls. These differences were manifested as larger magnitudes of the MMN. The findings suggest the possibility that as measured by the MMN, individuals at high risk for alcoholism may be characterized by a deficit in inhibition (excessive neural excitation). The presence of these preexisting central nervous system states may lead to ethanol use for self-medication, which then may facilitate the development of both tolerance to and dependence on ethanol.

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“…Among humans, individuals with increased levels of anxiety are more likely to report that they expect alcohol to elevate their mood and to show a reduction in anxiety after its consumption (27,28). There is also evidence that, relative to controls, individuals at high risk for developing alcoholism show more robust reductions in autonomic reactivity, as measured by responses of heart rate and muscle tension to stress, after consuming alcohol (29)(30)(31). Furthermore, studies on psychiatric patients indicate that anxiety or affective disorders may be risk factors for alcohol abuse (32,33), with many patients reporting the use of alcohol to alleviate anxiety (34)(35)(36).…”

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confidence: 99%

Nonhuman primate model of alcohol abuse: effects of early experience, personality, and stress on alcohol consumption.

Higley

Hasert

Suomi

et al. 1991

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

327

236

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Twenty-two 50-month-old rhesus monkeys were prodded concurrent free access to an aspartamesweetened 7% ethanol solution and an aspartame-sweetened vehicle before, during, and after social separation. Subjects had been reared for their first 6 months of life either without access to adults but with constant access to age mates (peer reared), a condition producing reduced exploration and increased fear-related behaviors, or as controls with their mothers; thereafter, all subjects received identical treatment. During home-cage periods, for 1 hr each day, 4 days a week, when the ethanol solution and vehicle were freely available, peerreared subjects consumed significantly more alcohol than mother-reared subjects. When stress was increased via social separation, mother-reared animals increased their alcohol consumption to a level nearly as high as that of peer-reared monkeys. Average individual differences in alcohol consumption were markedly stable over time. In addition, there were strong positive correlations between alcohol consumption and distress behaviors. Biological indices of increased stress, such as plasma cortisol and corticotropin, were higher in peerreared subjects. Within the peer-and mother-reared groups, these indices were positively correlated with alcohol consumption. The results suggest that early rearing experiences that predispose monkeys to increased fear-related behaviors produce excessive alcohol consumption under normal living conditions. Furthermore, a major challenge such as social separation increases alcohol consumption to levels producing intoxication even in monkeys not particularly vulnerable to stress.

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Differences in muscle-tension response to ethanol in young men with and without family histories of alcoholism.

Cited by 58 publications

References 10 publications

Stress response dampening: effects of gender and family history of alcoholism and anxiety disorders

Stress response dampening: effects of gender and family history of alcoholism and anxiety disorders

Mismatch Negativity in Subjects at High Risk for Alcoholism

Nonhuman primate model of alcohol abuse: effects of early experience, personality, and stress on alcohol consumption.

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