Effects of alcohol on psychophysiological hyperreactivity to nonaversive and aversive stimuli in men at high risk for alcoholism.

Psychophysiological reactivity to nonaversive (1-KHz, 70-db tones) and aversive stimuli (shock) was examined in nonalcoholic men with multigenerational family histories (MFH) of alcoholism and family history negative (FH–) men, while sober and after consuming alcohol. In comparison with FH– Ss, sober MFH Ss had significantly larger skin conductance (SC) orienting responses (ORs), shorter OR latencies, slower habituation rates to the tones, and larger increases in heart rate and vasoconstriction to the shock. Alcohol dampened the magnitude of the SC-OR to the tones and the degree of cardiovascular reactivity to the shocks and increased the habituation rate to the tones in MFH Ss only. Alcohol consumption also increased the SC-OR recovery time in FH– Ss only. The MFH Ss' pattern of psychophysiological hyperreactivity is discussed in terms of a potential dysfunction in stimulus–response regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive function, cardiovascular reactivity, and behavior in boys at high risk for alcoholism.

Boys (average age?=?12.1 years) from families with an extensive history of paternal alcoholism differed from controls of similar age and IQ on measures of cognitive function, cardiovascular reactivity, and parent-rated conduct problems. High-risk boys performed most poorly on neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe function. According to tests of temporal organization and conditional associate learning, control over working memory was the frontal subfunction primarily affected. A mental arithmetic task also elicited greater heart rate increases and peripheral vasoconstriction among high-risk boys than among controls. After controlling for group status, significant correlations remained between frontal lobe test scores and disruptive behavior and between cardiovascular hyperreactivity and anxiety levels. The possible contribution of these findings to alcohol abuse was discussed. (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.     

Positive and negative associations with alcohol and familial risk for alcoholism.

Considerable evidence indicates that cognitions regarding favorable drinking consequences figure prominently in the development of problem drinking. Because children of alcoholics (COAs) are at particularly high risk for developing drinking problems, the authors hypothesized that they would have higher levels of such cognitions than children of nonalcoholics (CONAs). The authors administered a free-recall task consisting of alcohol, positive, negative, and neutral words to 100 college students and predicted that COAs (n?=?18) would have higher levels of positive associations (measured by contiguous recall) and lower levels of negative associations with alcohol than would CONAs (n?=?82). The results indicated that although COAs had significantly fewer negative associations than CONAs they had statistically comparable levels of positive associations. Early intervention efforts among COAs may be enhanced by placing increased emphasis on alcohol's negative consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk for alcoholism and individual differences in the stress-response-dampening effect of alcohol.

In Exp I, male nonalcoholics (aged 21–30 yrs), considered to be at heightened risk for alcoholism on the basis of high scores on the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC), were found to show much more pronounced reduction of their cardiovascular and affective responses (as measured by the Mood Adjective Check List) to stress when they consumed alcohol (1 g/kg) than did their low-risk controls. In Exp II, with 82 Ss, a similar finding for cardiovascular responses to stress was observed when risk was predicated on the basis of low scores on the Socialization (S) scale of the California Psychological Inventory (or on the basis of combined risk on both the MAC and S scale). Results indicate that outgoing, aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial individuals who are identified by these measures may find alchohol consumption particularly reinforcing by virtue of their obtaining a greater amount of alcohol's stress-response-dampening (SRD) effect when they drink. An etiological model of alcoholism that incorporates individual differences in the SRD effects is proposed. (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling of alcohol use mediates the effect of family history of alcoholism on adolescent alcohol expectancies.

The relative impact of biological family history of alcoholism and exposure to abusive parental drinking on alcohol effect expectancies of adolescent offspring were investigated in the present study. Exposure to familial models of alcohol abuse and biological family history were both predictive of positive alcohol effect expectancies of adolescent offspring. Degree of exposure to an alcohol-abusing family member mediated the relationship between biological family history of alcoholism and adolescent alcohol outcome expectancies. These results support prior findings of expectancy differences between youths with and without a family background of alcoholism and provide evidence supporting the significance of family modeling influences in the development of adolescents' alcohol expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-analysis of P300 amplitude from males at risk for alcoholism.

The P3(00) event-related brain potential (ERP) is used to study the development of alcoholism by comparing males who have a positive family history of alcoholism with control Ss who have no such familial history. Meta-analysis indicated that overall, P3 amplitudes were obtained from males with family histories of alcoholism compared to controls. Moderator analysis indicated that paradigms using difficult visual tasks yielded the most reliable effects. Furthermore, no differences in outcomes were obtained among studies that recruited positive family history Ss exclusively from among individuals whose fathers had received treatment for alcoholism as compared with other studies. These findings are discussed in the context of using ERPs as an evaluative tool in the study of psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggressiveness, family history of alcoholism, and the heart rate response to alcohol intoxication.

Some sons of male alcoholics (SOMAS) are characterized by an increased heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication, which is thought to reflect increased sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward. Such a response has also been related to increased physical aggression. However, the confounding effect of aggression in SOMAS may be obscuring the interpretation of these findings. The HR response to alcohol was therefore assessed in 4 groups: high/low aggressive SOMAS and high/low aggressive non-SOMAS. Results indicate that aggressive SOMAS had the highest intoxicated HR response and that they reported the most alcohol consumption. This suggests that in some cases the high comorbidity between alcohol misuse and aggression is related to an increased sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of hypercholesterolemic men and women at high risk for atherosclerosis. Study of risk factors and response to pravastatin treatment

BACKGROUND: Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC; EC 4.1.1.17) is the first rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines. ODC protein has a characteristic amino acid sequence, the PEST sequence, which is related to the enzyme's rapid degradation. ODC cDNA prepared from human hepatoma tissues has been reported to show nonsense or missense mutations. METHODS: We examined somatic mutations of ODC cDNA by RT-PCR-SSCP analysis and mRNA expressions by RT-PCR in 50 colorectal cancer tissues to investigate the involvement of ODC gene alterations in colorectal cancers. RESULTS: Increased expression of the ODC gene was observed in 36 cases (86%) out of the 42 examined by RT-PCR. In one case, a missense mutation was found in the cancer tissue but not in normal mucosa. The missense mutation from Asp to Asn at codon 424, in the PEST region, possibly stabilizes the ODC protein. In colorectal cancer, replication error and a germline mutation in hMSH2 gene were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The missense mutation at codon 424 is speculated to be a cause of stabilization and a passenger mutation owing to the mutator phenotype. Since only one of 50 colorectal cancers exhibited a missense mutation of the ODC gene, mutations in ODC gene are not frequent in colorectal cancer. The increased expression of the ODC gene was noted in 86% of colorectal cancer tissues by RT-PCR, however, it was not due to point mutations in ODC coding exons.     

MMPI-2 response styles: Generalization to alcoholism assessment.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI—2) Validity scales (L, F, and K) were used to identify subgroups of inpatients seeking treatment for alcoholism and to determine the extent that assessed test-taking attitude could be generalized to other alcoholism assessment instruments. Cluster analysis of the inpatients receiving treatment for alcoholism identified 3 distinct response style subgroups: defensive, straightforward, and exaggerated. These patterns were confirmed in a 2nd sample. Calibration equations were generated and used to classify a subsequent sample into subgroups, and expected differences were found across the subgroups on the Alcohol Use Inventory (J. L. Horn, K. W. Wanberg, & F. M. Foster, 1987) and the Inventory of Drinking Situations (H. M. Annis, 1982). These preliminary results suggest that MMPI—2 response style is associated with response to other alcohol abuse assessment instruments. Future research examining the relationship between test-taking attitude and treatment involvement and outcome is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigation of immune response in rubber workers at high risk for cancer

The study was concerned with immune response in the workers engaged in rubber manufacture which is a cancer hazard. A group of healthy donors were in control. The study group was divided into those free from carcinogen-protein adducts (CPA) and those who revealed them and, therefore, are considered at high risk for cancer. CPAs containing benzidine, 2-naphtylamine or 3-oxyanthranyl acid were assayed in blood serum. B- and T-immunity inhibition was shown to be present in both study sub-groups. A significant difference in immune response indices was established between the CPA-free and CPA-containing groups of the rubber workers. The latter group had relatively higher levels of IgA, IgM and globulins of immunocomplexes, and revealed inhibition of formation of antibody-forming cells to ovine erythrocytes following injection of CPA-containing blood serum into mice as well as relatively higher suppression of T-cell immunity in the workers at high risk.     

Greater reinforcement from alcohol for those at risk: Parental risk, personality risk, and sex.

The effects of a high dose of alcohol (1 g ethanol/kg body weight) on physiological and self-report responses to two stressors (electric shock and self-disclosing speech) were compared with the effects of a placebo in three groups of nonalcoholic subjects considered to be at heightened risk for alcoholism by virtue of their (a) having an alcoholic parent (parental risk) or (b) matching a prealcoholic personality profile (personality risk), or (c) having an alcoholic parent and matching a prealcoholic personality profile. These high-risk groups were contrasted with a low-risk group that had neither risk factor. Male and female subjects were tested in each group with appropriate controls for drinking experience and, for female subjects, phase of menstrual cycle. Results indicated that a potentially reinforcing effect of alcohol (its capacity to attenuate physiological responses to stress) was more pronounced in high-risk subjects than in low-risk subjects. This relation was found for both parental risk and personality risk factors and in both male and female subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of familial alcoholism on alcohol reactivity in female social drinkers.

Some individuals may have an inherent reactivity to alcohol that facilitates early development of characteristics associated with alcoholism. Although response to alcohol cues has been used to assess this reactivity, few studies have included women or investigated familial alcoholism as a variable. In this study, 23 female college students were divided into groups according to family history of alcoholism (positive or negative). Alcohol reactivity was measured by salivation, skin temperature, heart rate, mood state, and craving for alcohol following presentation of alcohol-related and neutral cues. Results indicate no correlation between salivary reactivity and alcohol craving, which suggests that these variables tap into different domains of cue reactivity. Findings demonstrate that alcohol cue reactivity can be assessed in female social drinkers and that familial alcoholism may influence salivary reactivity to alcohol-related cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The individual at high risk for endometrial carcinoma

The relative frequency of gonorrhea and nongonococcal urethritis was studied among all active duty US Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Between 1966 and 1974, the incidence of the two diseases increased in parallel fashion, reaching 80.2 cases of gonorrhea and 61.8 cases of nongonococcal urethritis per 1000 average strength in 1974. The 56,457 cases of gonorrhea and 43,538 cases of nongonococcal urethritis reported in 1974 were unevenly distributed geographically. In the United States that year, nongonococcal urethritis was the more commonly reported condition, with 32.9 cases per 1000 average strength per year compared to 28.6 for gonorrhea; and, for the last four years, the ratio of the two was 1.05 cases of nongonococcal urethritis for each case of gonorrhea. These findings imply that nongonococcal urethritis is a significantly greater problem than has been generally recognized.     

An alcohol expectancy-challenge prevention program for at risk college women.

Alcohol expectancy-challenge programs are effective in changing expectancies and reducing drinking in college men (J. Darker & M. S. Goldman. 1993. 1998); however, recent evidence suggests this protocol might not be effective for women (M. E. Dunn, C. Lau, & I. Y. Cruz, 2000). This study was designed to reevaluate the effectiveness of a social/sexual expectancy-challenge intervention in college women reporting moderate to heavy alcohol use. Forty-six undergraduate women were randomly assigned to the prevention or control condition. Participants reported alcohol expectancies at pre- and posttest and monitored their drinking patterns daily for 6 weeks. The program was effective in changing some expectancies but did not reduce drinking. This further confirms differences in the mechanisms by which expectancy-challenge programs function for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Veterans Affairs Implantable Insulin Pump Study: effect on cardiovascular risk factors

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether implantable insulin pump (IIP) and multiple-dose insulin (MDI) therapy have different effects on cardiovascular risk factors in insulin-requiring patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized clinical trial was conducted at seven Veterans Affairs medical centers in 121 male patients with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 40 and 69 years receiving at least one injection of insulin per day and with HbA1c, levels of > or =8% at baseline. Weights, blood pressures, insulin use, and glucose monitoring data were obtained at each visit. Lipid levels were obtained at 0, 4, 8, and 12 months, and free and total insulin levels were obtained at 0, 6, and 12 months. All medications being taken were recorded at each visit. RESULTS: No difference in absolute blood pressure, neither systolic nor diastolic, was seen between patients receiving MDI or IIP therapy, but significantly more MDI patients required anti-hypertensive medications. When blood pressure was modeled against weight and time, IIP therapy was significantly better than MDI therapy for systolic blood pressure in patients with BMI <33 and for diastolic blood pressure in patients with BMI >34 kg/m2. Total cholesterol levels decreased in the overall sample, but IIP patients exhibited significantly higher levels than MDI patients. Triglyceride levels increased over time for both groups, with IIP patients having significantly higher levels than patients in the MDI group. BMI was a significant predictor of, and inversely proportional to, HDL cholesterol level. No difference in lipid-lowering drug therapy was seen between the two groups. Free insulin and insulin antibodies tended to decrease in the IIP group as compared with the MDI group. C-peptide levels decreased in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: IIP therapy in insulin-requiring patients with type 2 diabetes has advantages over MDI therapy in decreasing the requirement for antihypertensive therapy and for decreasing total and free insulin and insulin antibodies. Both therapies reduce total cholesterol and C-peptide levels.     

Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: A genetically informed study of children of alcoholics.

The children-of-twins design was used to isolate a potentially causal environmental impact of having an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder, by an examination of whether the children of alcoholics were at a higher risk for alcohol use disorders than were the children of nonalcoholic parents, even after correlated familial factors were controlled. Participants were 1,224 male and female twins from 836 twin pairs selected from the Australian Twin Registry, 2,334 of the twins' 18-39-year-old offspring, and 983 spouses of the twins. Lifetime histories of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) alcohol use disorders were obtained by structured, psychiatric, telephone interviews conducted individually with each of the family members. Comparisons of the offspring of twins who were discordant for alcoholism indicated that there was no longer a statistically significant difference between the children of alcoholics and the children of nonalcoholics after genetic and family environmental factors correlated with having an alcoholic parent were controlled. The results of this study suggest that the direct causal effect of being exposed to an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder is modest at best. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of behavioral science to alcohol research: Understanding who is at risk and why.

Behavioral science has been an active participant in alcohol research progress over the past 30 years, particularly in the areas of prevention and treatment methodology. However, alcoholism results from the interaction between complex biological and behavioral systems, and in recent years, combined behavioral and biological studies, primarily of alcohol effects on the brain and of the genetics of alcoholism, have begun the much more complex process of elucidating the links between biology and specific alcohol use behaviors. It is this combined research that ultimately will produce the pharmacological and behavioral interventions that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of alcohol prevention and treatment methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The joint effect of informational mood impact and performance-contingent consequences on effort-related cardiovascular response.

Drawing on the mood-behavior model (G. H. E. Gendolla, 2000) and J. W. Brehm and E. A. Self's (1989) theory of effort mobilization, 2 experiments investigated the joint effect of mood, task difficulty, and performance-contingent consequences on effort-related cardiovascular response. Informational mood impact on demand appraisals and performance-contingent consequences had a joint effect on effort mobilization. When consequences were noncontingent on performance, mood interacted with task difficulty to determine cardiovascular reactivity in the shape of a cross-over interaction pattern. Yet when positive consequences were performance contingent, cardiovascular reactivity strongly increased only in the negative-mood/difficult-task condition--the subjectively appraised high necessary effort was now justified. Implications for the role of mood in motivation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)