Behavioral and cardiovascular responses to interpersonal challenges among male offspring of essential hypertensives.

Behavioral, cardiovascular, and self-report measures of cognitive and affective responses to 2 interpersonal challenges were examined among 20 men with a positive (FH+) and 20 with a negative (FH–) family history of hypertension. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured throughout the laboratory session; Ss were requested to self-report positive and negative conditions, state anger, and state anxiety that occurred during interactions with a male and female confederate. Behavioral responses to interpersonal tasks were videotaped, coded, and categorized into 4 major groupings (positive verbal, positive nonverbal, negative verbal, and negative nonverbal). FH+ individuals exhibited significantly higher resting HR and systolic BP reactivity to both interactions than FH– counterparts. Analyses of behavioral responses for both interactions revealed significantly more negative verbal and nonverbal behavior and less positive nonverbal behavior among FH+ as compared with FH– Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential sensitivity to alcohol reinforcement in groups of men at risk for distinct alcoholism subtypes

The present study examines the relationship of familial and personality risk factors for alcoholism to individual differences in sensitivity to the positively and negatively reinforcing properties of alcohol. Sixteen sons of male alcoholics with multigenerational family histories of alcoholism (MFH) and 11 men who self-report heightened sensitivity to anxiety (HAS) were compared with 13 age-matched family history negative, low anxiety sensitive men (FH-LAS) on sober and alcohol-intoxicated response patterns. We were interested in the effects of alcohol on specific psychophysiological indices of "stimulus reactivity," anxiety, and incentive reward. Alcohol significantly dampened heart rate reactivity to aversive stimulation for the MFH and HAS men equally, yet did not for the FH-LAS group. HAS men evidenced idiosyncrasies with respect to alcohol-induced changes in electrodermal reactivity to aversive stimulation (an index of anxiety/fear-dampening), and MFH men demonstrated elevated alcohol-intoxicated resting heart rates (an index of psychostimulation) relative to the FH-LAS men. The results are interpreted as reflecting a sensitivity to the "stimulus reactivity-dampening" effects of alcohol in both high-risk groups, yet population-specific sensitivities to the fear-dampening and psychostimulant properties of alcohol in the HAS and MFH groups, respectively.     

Risk for alcoholism and classical conditioning to signals for punishment: Evidence for a weak behavioral inhibition system.

Nonalcoholic men with high-density family histories of alcohol dependence (high risk) were compared with men with negative family histories (low risk) on a differential classical conditioning protocol that examined the acquisition of conditioned skin conductance responses (SCRs) to a tone (CS+) signaling the occurrence of an electric shock. High-risk Ss had significantly smaller SCRs to the CS+ tone probes during the acquisition phase and poor response discrimination between CS+ probes and CS– tones that were not paired with shock. The low-risk Ss showed a consistent pattern of discrimination between the CS+ and CS– tones. Unresponsivity to the CS+ probes was significantly related to more alcohol-related problems. The results suggest a relationship between risk for alcohol abuse and poor conditioning to signals for punishment, possibly reflecting weak behavioral inhibition system processes (D. C. Fowles; 1987). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men at high risk for alcoholism: The effect of alcohol on cardiovascular response to unavoidable shock.

Three groups of 12 nonalcoholic men at differing degrees of genetic risk for alcoholism were tested with and without alcohol for their cardiovascular response to an aversive stimulus. A high-risk group consisted of sons of alcoholic fathers with extensive transgenerational family histories of alcoholism. A moderate-risk group included sons of alcoholic fathers whose previous generation was essentially negative for other alcoholic diagnoses. The low-risk group consisted of men with negative family histories for the disorder. Heart rate and digital blood volume amplitude were measured in each subject while resting and during a signaled shock procedure. Results show that the high-risk group was more cardiovascularly reactive to the stressor than the moderate-risk group when sober. Alcohol consumption led to a dramatic reduction in the degree of reactivity in the high-risk group, and it led to increased reactivity in the moderate-risk group. The trend for the low-risk group was similar to the moderate-risk group with no significant differences between the two. The methodology and results are discussed in terms of their relevance in the etiology of alcoholism in high-risk men and in terms of the need for generational controls in studying sons of alcoholics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol challenge with sons of alcoholics: A critical review and analysis.

Studies are reviewed in which response to acute administration of alcohol was compared between individuals with and without family histories of alcoholism (FH+, FH–). This research represents a search for a psychobiological marker for alcoholism. A methodological critique of the procedures reported in this literature is then presented. Finally, a conceptual model is suggested in which differences in the response to alcohol between FH+ individuals and FH– individuals must be understood in relation to time after drinking alcohol. This Newtonian differentiator model proposes that sons of alcoholics exhibit acute sensitization as blood alcohol level rises and acute tolerance as blood alcohol level falls, compared with sons of nonalcoholics. Therefore, FH+ Ss find alcohol more rewarding because they accentuate the pleasurable, excitatory aspects of initial intoxication and attenuate the feelings of anxiety and depression that predominate as blood alcohol levels drop. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol administration on psychophysiological and subjective-emotional responses to aversive stimulation in anxiety-sensitive women.

Examined the effects of anxiety-sensitivity (AS) levels, and 1.00 ml/kg alcohol, on autonomic and subjective-emotional responses to aversive stimulation (i.e., noise bursts). Ss were 30 university women divided into 3 AS groups (high, moderate, and low), on the basis of Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) scores. When sober, high-AS women provided higher emotional arousal ratings while anticipating the noise bursts than did low-AS women. Alcohol dampened the noise burst-anticipation ratings, particularly in the high-AS group. ASI scores were positively correlated with degree of sober skin conductance level (SCL) reactivity and with degree of alcohol dampening of SCL reactivity. Thus, high-AS women may use alcohol to normalize their anticipatory emotional and electrodermal overreactivity to threat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethyl alcohol: Relationships to memory for aversive learning in goldfish (Carassius auratus).

Trained 96 goldfish in a shuttle-avoidance task under various ethanol dosages. Ss were tested for recall of the task under either changed or unchanged drug states. Alcohol increased shock-avoidance performance in a dose-related manner. Decrements in recall were also dose related with poorer recall associated with greater changes in drug state. Extended exposure to ethanol did not eliminate the decrements in recall. Alcohol also increased reactivity to and detectability of electric shock. Alcohol-induced changes in responsiveness to stimuli seemed responsible for increased avoidance learning. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physiologic reactivity to startling tones in women with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Autonomic and eyeblink reactivity to startling tones were investigated in women with histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Twenty-one women with current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 23 with lifetime but not current PTSD, and 13 women who never had PTSD listened to 15 95-dB, 500-ms, 1000-Hz tones with a 0-ms rise time while heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SC), and orbicularis oculi electromyogram (EMG) responses were measured. Participants in the current and lifetime PTSD groups produced larger HR responses across tones and showed slower absolute habituation of SC response magnitude compared with the never PTSD group. EMG response magnitudes did not differ among groups. Women with CSA-related PTSD showed increased autonomic reactivity and slower habituation to high-intensity tones similar to that observed in primarily male, combat PTSD samples. This suggests that heightened autonomic responsivity to startling stimuli in PTSD is not gender or event specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phasic electrodermal orienting response in chronic schizophrenics: II. Response to auditory signals of varying intensity.

Studied phasic electrodermal orienting response (OR) to brief tones at 60, 75, or 90 db. Results support earlier findings obtained with brief visual stimuli both in retest and in newly recruited Ss among 72 clear and 72 confused chronic schizophrenics and 48 normal controls. Confused Ss showed diminished reactivity to stimuli of low to moderate intensity. A moderate increase in stimulus intensity significantly improved initial OR frequency among confused Ss without affecting response amplitude; further increase brought initial OR amplitude to normal levels. Chronic schizophrenics again showed consistently faster habituation than controls. Results are not attributable to particular diagnostic subgroupings or total time in hospital. While long-hospitalized Ss with a hebephrenic diagnosis are more likely to be confused, it is the fact of confusion itself that is significant in determining OR. Results suggest faster but less detailed assilimation of information among chronic schizophrenics in general, coupled with a defensive attenuation of specific input among confused patients in particular. (30 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrodermal habituation and subjective response: Effects of manifest anxiety and autonomic arousal.

Studied the effects of cortical function and individual differences on galvanic skin response (GSR) habituation to tones of low and moderate intensity. 40 female undergraduates were divided into high- and low-anxious groups, on the basis of their Taylor Manifest Anxiety scale scores, and into high- and low-arousal groups, on the basis of their resting-level GSR activity. High-anxious Ss perceived nonchanging, nonnoxious moderate and low tones as increasing in intensity over trials while their electrodermal responses to the tones were habituating. Although the low-anxious group and the high- and low-arousal groups also showed electrodermal habituation, there were no significant effects of trials for intensity ratings. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual sharpening in the developing rat.

Studied the development of perceptual sharpening in 4 experiments with 514 Sprague-Dawley rats using the heart rate orienting response ([HROR] marked cardiac deceleration to novel stimuli) as the dependent measure. Preweanling Ss either 16–17 or 19–20 days of age were habituated to a 1,600-Hz tone over 15 trials. On Trial 16, the stimulus frequency was changed to 1 of 7 tones distributed on either side of the habituated stimulus. Analysis of the HROR showed that 16–27 day old Ss failed to respond to any of the new frequencies, which indicated generalization of habituation to the auditory stimuli within the frequency range studied. In marked contrast, 19–20 day old Ss displayed an HROR proportional to the difference between the habituated and the test stimuli. These age-related differences were not due to differences in sensitivity to the test stimuli, effector fatigue, or inability to discriminate between the test stimuli. Results indicate that perceptual sharpening develops relatively rapidly in rats and that perceptual sharpening, stimulus detection, and stimulus discrimination follow separate ontogenetic time courses. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Habituation of the orienting response as a function of individual differences in anxiety and autonomic lability.

Evaluated the role of individual differences in anxiety and autonomic lability on the habituation of GSR responses to auditory stimuli of moderate and very low intensity. 60 male undergraduate Ss were used. They were divided into high- and low-anxious groups on the basis of Taylor MA scale scores and high and low autonomic lability groups on the basis of spontaneous GSR activity during a rest period. No relationship between Taylor score and GSR habituation was obtained for either stimulus intensity. Autonomically labile Ss showed no habituation to the moderate tone, but did habituate to the low intensity tone. Autonomically stabile Ss habituated to both tones. It was concluded that individual differences in autonomic lability may predict whether an S will respond to moderate intensities with orienting or defensive reactions. (33 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant perception of the invariant size of approaching and receding objects.

After habituation of looking at an object that repeatedly approached and receded through 50 cm along the medial axis, 30 infants (16.1–19.6 wks old) were presented with both the same moving object and one of a different size falling within the same range of visual angles as those projected during habituation. The starting point for movement varied widely from trial to trial to "desensitize" Ss to a range of changing distances and visual angles. Recovery from habituation of looking was greater for the moving object of a different size than for the same object, indicating that Ss perceived an object's invariant size with changing visual angle (i.e., that visual size constancy was operative). A secondary finding was that following habituation to the smaller object there was a markedly greater recovery with the larger object than with the smaller, but following habituation with the larger one there was no difference between their recovery. Outcomes were attributed to the additive effects of object salience and recovery from habituation. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of visual experience on the habituation of orienting behavior.

Three experiments studied the orienting behavior (OB) at 30, 60, 90, or 120 days old of male Long-Evans rats, of whom 88 were light-reared (LR) and 84 dark-reared (DR). OB was assessed by examining S's ability to interrupt ongoing licking and perform appropriate head and postural adjustments when presented with apparently moving or stationary light displays or tones. When the lights were first presented to the LR and DR Ss, their OB did not differ at any of the ages. However, age and visual experience did influence habituation and recovery of orienting with changes in the light display. The older DR Ss habituated with fewer repeated presentations of the light displays than the LR Ss and did not recover orienting as effectively to all the subsequent changes of the light displays. The younger LR and DR Ss did not differ reliably. Results are discussed with regard to the nature of the habituation process for rodents and the relation between visual experience and habituation of attentional responses. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Baroreceptor reflex function in young normotensive men with a family history of hypertension

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the baroreflex function using lower body negative pressure (LBNP) and neck suction in young normotensive men with or without a family history of hypertension. Twenty-two young normotensive men with a family history of hypertension (FH+) and eight young normotensive men who had no family history of hypertension (FH-) were studied. FH(+) consisted of men who had a family history of hypertension within second degree relatives. We studied cardiopulmonary baroreflex function using LBNP and carotid sinus baroreflex function using neck suction and evaluated the reflex function under stimulated conditions using both LBNP and neck suction at the same time. Systolic arterial pressure (SAP)(F = 5.42, p < 0.0001) and pulse pressure (PP)(F = 15.57, p < 0.0001) decreased similarly in both groups in response to LBNP. SAP and PP responses to LBNP were not significantly affected by the family history of hypertension. Diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) increased (F = 2.89, p < 0.005) in both groups. There was a relationship between the LBNP level and family history of hypertension (F = 2.53, p < 0.013), and the increment in DAP during LBNP -30, -40 mmHg was larger in the FH(+) group. Through mean arterial pressure (MAP) was not effected by LBNP, there LBNP level was related to the family history of hypertension (F = 2.23, p < 0.02). Heart rate increased progressively (F = 25.7, p < 0.0001) with increasing levels of LBNP; however, these changes did not differ significantly in either group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Aging, selective attention, and inhibitory processes: A psychophysiological approach.

Investigated the efficiency with which younger and older adults allocate attention to relevant and irrelevant stimuli. The model of attention guiding this research links the orienting response with the allocation of attention and habituation with the inhibition of the allocation of attention. The authors adapted a paradigm developed by W. G. Iacono and D. T. Lykken (1983) in which Ss are instructed unambiguously either to attend or to ignore a series of innocuous tones, and the skin conductance orienting response elicited by each tone is measured. Results revealed that young Ss instructed to ignore the tones habituated more quickly than did those instructed to attend to the tones. However, older adults exhibited nondifferential orienting across the 2 instruction conditions. These results suggest an age-related deficit in the ability to inhibit attention to irrelevant stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol abuse and familial alcoholism on physical health in men and women.

Administered a structured interview measuring 5 categories of physical health (medical history, alcohol-related disorders, trauma history, drug use history, and female-related disorders) to 76 male and 72 female detoxified alcoholics and 50 male and 51 female nonalcoholic controls. Ss were aged 21–62 yrs, and approximately half the Ss had a positive family history (FH) of alcoholism (AC). Results indicate that (1) alcoholics suffer pervasive physical health difficulties, (2) an FH of AC is predictive of health problems in both alcoholics and controls, (3) the effects of alcohol abuse and FH of AC on health are independent and additive, and (4) women may exhibit increased vulnerability to the adverse effects of AC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strychnine increases acoustic startle amplitude but does not alter short-term or long-term habituation.

Used the glycine antagonist strychnine (1.0 mg/kg, ip, 10 min before treatment) to investigate the involvement of glycinergic neurons in the development and/or expression of short-term (within-session) habituation (Exp I) and long-term (between-sessions) habituation (Exps II and III) of the acoustic startle response in 120 male albino Sprague-Dawley rats. Over a range of eliciting-stimulus intensities (95, 105, and 115 db) and interstimulus intervals (3, 7, 13, and 27 sec), strychnine markedly increased startle amplitude, relative to water injection, whereas it failed to attenuate the rate of within-session habituation (Exp I). In Exp II, Ss that were exposed to daily sessions of startle-eliciting stimuli for 4 days and then tested on Day 5 showed lower levels of startle amplitude than Ss with no prior habituation training. Strychnine injected prior to the test session again increased startle amplitude but did not block the expression of between-sessions habituation. In Exp III, Ss injected with either strychnine or water prior to each of 3 daily habituation training sessions and subsequently tested on Day 4 showed similar between-sessions habituation. In general, results show that strychnine increased startle amplitude without affecting either within-session or between-sessions habituation of acoustic startle. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity: Personality, substance use, and the stress-response-dampening effect of alcohol.

The platelet MAO activity of 557 male Ss (aged 21–26 yrs) was assessed with substance use and abuse, family history of alcoholism, and personality traits. Low platelet MAO activity was associated with (1) undercontrolled behavioral style as evidenced by high scores on measures of antisociality, (2) increased use of cigarettes, and (3) increased rates of illicit drug use and adverse consequences of drug use. Low MAO activity was not related to either alcohol use or abuse. In an experimental study, 17 Ss with MAO activity in the lowest decile and 38 Ss with MAO activity in the highest 2 deciles were administered either a .625 g/kg dose of alcohol or a placebo and exposed to an anxiety-provoking stressor. Low-MAO-activity Ss appeared to show stronger stress response dampening on heart rate than high-MAO-activity Ss. No other differences in response to alcohol were found, and MAO activity was not related to general reactivity to the stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of naltrexone and signaling inescapable electric shock on nociception and gastric lesions in rats.

Two experiments, with 144 male Long-Evans hooded rats, examined the antinociceptive effects of signaled shock and its physiological underpinnings. In Exp I, Ss were exposed to 1 of 3 shock conditions: no shock, unsignaled shock, and signaled (by a 10-sec, 1,000-Hz tone) shock. In each condition, Ss were tested hourly in the absence of tones for nociception, with vocalization to shock used as the behavioral measure. Ss receiving signaled shocks had stomach ulcer scores intermediate between those of no-shock and unsignaled shock Ss. Signaled-shock Ss also displayed a pronounced vocalization antinociception effect. This suggested that signaled shock may be less aversive. Exp II investigated a possible role of endogenous opiate peptides in these effects. Ss received hourly injections of either the opiate antagonist naltrexone (7 mg/kg, ip) or saline. There were no significant effects of naltrexone on either stomach pathology or nociception scores. The same effects of signaled shock were obtained as in Exp I. It is concluded that the role of endogenous opiates in the effects of signaled shock seen here is minimal. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)