Effect of stress on perceived intoxication and the blood alcohol curve in men and women.

Abstract

To determine the influence of stress on intoxication and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) 60 healthy male and female volunteers were exposed to a cold pressor test, distressing film, or control condition after consuming a moderate dose of alcohol. Two measures of perceived intoxication suggested a sobering effect of acute stressors. In addition, Ss viewing the distressing film showed longer latency to peak BAC than Ss in the control condition. As BAC began to fall, the cold pressor test initially increased rate of alcohol elimination. These stress-induced changes in intoxication and the BAC curve support a biobehavioral model in which stress may increase alcohol use partly because it attenuates alcohol's psychopharmacological impact.

Effects of stress on responses to methamphetamine in humans

“…For example, Stone et al (2002) reported that stress decreased the effects of modafinil in rats, and Caggiula et al (1998) reported that stress dampened responses to nicotine in rats. In humans, stressors such as physical exertion, acute pain, distressing film, or social stress have been reported to decrease some of the acute intoxicating and subjective responses to alcohol and other drugs (Wolff et al 1942;Garlind et al 1960;Breslin et al 1994;Söderpalm and de Wit 2002). Söderpalm and de Wit (2002) found that social stress reduced the stimulant-like effects of alcohol and increased self-reports of sedation.…”

Modulating effects of a cold water stimulus on opioid effects in volunteers

“…The impairing and intoxicating e¤ects of alcohol can be attenuated by painful stimuli (i.e., cold water, electric shock) (Korman et al 1960;Frankenhaeuser et al 1974;Breslin et al 1994Breslin et al , 1995. Breslin et al (1994) studied healthy volunteers who consumed two alcoholic beverages in the laboratory and were then subjected to a cold pressor test (in which a forearm was immersed into ice-cold water), or to a warm-water control situation. Alcohol intoxication, as measured by subjective e¤ects, was reduced in the cold pressor group relative to the control group.…”

Ethanol discrimination in the rat: lack of modulation by restraint stress and memantine

“…In line with the above, NMDA receptor antagonists decrease several neurochemical and behavioural actions of acute and chronic stress (Serrano et al 1989;Hutson and Barton 1997;McEwen and Magarinos 1997). In addition, these compounds potentiate whereas stress attenuates ethanol-induced motor and cognitive deficits (Korman et al 1960;Grant 1994;Breslin et al 1994Breslin et al , 1995Beleslin et al 1997).…”

“…Acute physical stress has been repeatedly shown to reduce the ethanol-induced depressant and amnestic effects (Korman et al 1960;Leikola 1962;Frankenhaeuser et al 1974). Moreover, subjective effects of ethanol measured by the Sensation Scale and the Visual Analog Intoxication Scale were antagonised by cold water stress in humans (Breslin et al 1994(Breslin et al , 1995. Shaham and Stewart (1995) have reported that acute restraint stress (given in close temporal relationship to heroin administration) decreased rat's sensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects of heroin.…”

“…This assumption was based on the results of numerous studies on the biochemical and behavioural effects of stress and NMDA receptor antagonists (Itoh et al 1993;Breslin et al 1994Breslin et al , 1995Singewald et al 1996;Beleslin et al 1997). For example, NMDA receptor antagonists and acute stress exert opposite effects on noradrenergic, cholinergic and glutamatergic transmission (Gilad et al 1990;Day et al 1998;Gotoh et al 1998;Nankai et al 1998).…”