Abstract
A study was conducted to assess subjective reports of intoxication during the ascending phase of the plasma ethanol curve. Eighteen male social drinkers were divided into three groups and were given either placebo, 0.347 g/kg ethanol or 0.694 g/kg ethanol under double-blind conditions. Subjects reported levels of intoxication both instrumentally, by moving a joystick device, and verbally using an 11-point self-rating scale. Compared to placebo, ethanol produced significantly higher verbal self-rating scores, but there were no differences in the scores between the low-and high-dose ethanol groups. Instrumental responses of ethanol effects did, however, distinguish between the two ethanol treatments. All subjects who received ethanol reliably detected its effects when plasma ethanol levels reached 32 mg/dl, but only the subjects who received the high dose reported episodes of intense well-being or euphoria. Ethanol-induced euphoria occurred while plasma ethanol levels were rapidly rising, and was characterized by multiple, paroxysmal episodes that typically lasted about 3 min each. This study demonstrated that a continuously available instrumental response provided sensitive and reliable measures of rapidly changing behavioral states associated with ethanol-induced intoxication.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramson HA (1945) The effect of alcohol on the personality inventory (Minnesota): A preliminary report. Psychosom Med 7:184–185
Alha AR (1951) Blood alcohol and clinical inebriation in Finnish men. Ann Acad Sci Fennicae Ser A 26:1–92
Babor TF, Berglas S, Mendelson JH, Ellingboe J, Miller K (1983) Alcohol, affect, and the disinhibition of verbal behavior. Psychopharmacology 80:53–60
Bättig K, Fischer H (1965) Persönlichkeitsmerkmale, subjektives Selbstempfinden und psychomotorische Leistung unter Alkoholeinfluß bei jungen, nicht alkoholgewöhnten Individiuen. [Personality characteristics, subjective experience and psychomotor performance of young, nonhabituated subjects under the influence of alcohol]. Z Präventivmed 10:386–396
Bourne HR (1978) Rational use of placebo. In: Melmon KL, Morelli HF (eds) Clinical pharmacology: Basic principles in therapeutics, 2nd edition. Macmillan Pub Co, New York, pp 1052–1062
Bschor F (1951) Studien über den Ablauf der Alkoholintoxikation unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der pharmackopsychologischen Beziehungen in der Resorptionsphase bei Alkoholgewöhnten. Deut Z Ges Gerichtl Med 40:399–420 [Abstract in Q J Stud Alcohol (1952) 13:127]
Bschor F (1952) Beobachtungen über ein funktionales Prinzip bei der psychomotorischen Leistungsminderung in den verschiedenen Phasen der akuten Alkoholintoxikation. Deut Z Ges Gerichtl Med 41:273–276 [Abstract in Q J Stud Alcohol (1953) 14:644]
Cohen G (1973) A role for tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids as false adrenergic neurotransmitters in alcoholism. In: Gross MM (ed) Advances in experimental medicine and biology, V 35, Alcohol Intoxication and Withdrawal Experimental Studies. Plenum Press, New York, pp 33–44
Cohen G (1976) Alkaloid products in the metabolism of alcohol and biogenic amines. Biochem Pharmacol 25:1123–1128
Eggleton MG (1941) The effect of alcohol on the central nervous system. Br J Psychol 32:52–61
Ekman G, Frankenhaeuser M, Goldberg L, Bjherver K, Jarpe G, Myrsten A-L (1963) Effects of alcohol intake on subjective and objective variables over a five-hour period. Psychopharmacologia 4:28–38
Ekman G, Frankenhaeuser M, Goldberg L, Hagdahl R, Myrsten A-L (1964) Subjective and objective effects of alcohol as functions of dosage and time. Psychopharmacologia 6:399–409
Freed EX (1978) Alcohol and mood: An updated review. Int J Addict 13:173–200
Goldberg L (1943) Quantitative studies on alcohol tolerance in man. Acta Physiol Scand (Suppl 16) 5:1–128
Hartocollis P (1962) Drunkeness and suggestion: An experiment with intravenous alcohol. Q J Stud Alcohol 28:376–389
Jones BM (1973) Memory impairment on the ascending and descending limbs of the blood alcohol curve. J Abnorm Psychol 87:24–32
Kelley M, Myrsten A-L, Neri A, Rydberg U (1970) Effects and after-effects of alcohol on physiological and psychological functions in man — a controlled study. Blutalkohol 7:422–436
Léric H, Kaplan J-C, Broun G (1970) Dosage enzematic de l'alcool sanguin par microméthode colorimetrique [A colorimetric micromethod for the enzymatic assay of ethanol in blood]. Clin Chim Acta 29:523–528
Lindros KO (1978) Acetaldehyde — its metabolism and role in the actions of alcohol. In: Israel Y, Glaser FB, Kalant H, Popham RE, Schmidt W, Smart RG (eds) Research advances in alcohol and drug problems, V4. Plenum Press, New York, pp 111–171
Locke SD, Dembiec D, Cohen G (1973) In vivo inhibition of neuronal uptake of a dopamine-derived tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ) alkaloid by cocaine and by desmethylimipramine (DMI). Fed Proc 32:526
Loomis TA, West TC (1958) The influence of alcohol on automobile driving ability: An experimental study for the evaluation of certain medicolegal aspects. Q J Stud Alcohol 19:30–46
McNamee HB, Mello NK, Mendelson JH (1968) Experimental analysis of drinking patterns of alcoholics: Concurrent psychiatric observations. AM J Psychiatry 124:1063–1069
Mellanby E (1919) Alcohol: Its absorption into and disappearance from the blood under different conditions. Nat Res Council, Special Report Series No 31, London, England
Mendelson JH ed (1964) Experimentally induced chronic intoxication and withdrawal in alcoholics. Q J Stud Alcohol Supplement 2
Mendelson JH, McGuire M, Mello NK (1984) A new device for administering placebo alcohol. Alcohol 1:417–419
Mirsky IA, Piker P, Rosenbaum M, Lederer H (1941) “Adaption” of the central nervous system to varying concentrations of alcohol in the blood. Q J Stud Alcohol 2:35–45
Myrsten A-L, Hollstedt C, Holmberg N (1975) Alcohol-induced changes in mood and activation in males and females. Scan J Psychol 16:303–310
Myrsten A-L, Lamble R, Frankenhaeuser M, Lundberg U (1979) Interaction of alcohol and reward in an achievement situation. Psychopharmacology 62:211–215
Nathan PE, O'Brien JS (1971) An experimental analysis of the behavior of alcoholics and nonalcoholics during prolonged experimental drinking: A necessary precursor of behavior therapy? Behav Ther 2:455–476
Osswald W, Polónia J, Polónia MA (1975) Preparation and pharmacological activity of the condensation product of adrenaline with acetaldehyde. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 289:275–279
Pihkanen TA (1957) Neurological and physiological studies on distilled and brewed beverages. Ann Med Exptl Biol Fenniae 35 [Suppl] 9:1–152
Radlow R, Hurst PM (1985) Temporal relations between blood alcohol concentration and alcohol effect: An experiment with human subjects. Psychopharmacology 85:260–266
Rohsenow D, Marlatt GA (1981) The balanced placebo design: Methodological considerations. Addict Behav 6:107–122
Russell JA, Mehrabian A (1975) The mediating role of emotions in alcohol use. J Stud Alcohol 36:1508–1536
Sippel HW (1974) The acetaldehyde content in rat brain during ethanol metabolism. J Neurochem 23:451–452
Smith RC, Parker ES, Noble EP (1975) Alcohol and affect in dyadic social interaction. Psychosom Med 37:25–40
Tamerin JS, Mendelson JH (1969) The psychodynamics of chronic inebriation: Observations of alcoholics during the process of drinking in an experimental group setting. Am J Psychiatry 125:886–899
Turner AJ, Baker KM, Algeri S, Frigerio A, Garattini S (1974) Tetrahydropapaveroline: Formulation in vivo and in vitro in rat brain. Life Sci 14:2247–2257
Warren GH, Raynes AE (1972) Mood changes during three conditions of alcohol intake. Q J Stud Alcohol 33:979–989
Williams AF (1966) Social drinking, anxiety and depression. J Person Soc Psychol 3:689–693
Wolff HG, Hardy JD, Goodell H (1941) Measurement of the effects on the pain threshold of acetylsalicylic acid, acetanilid, acetophenetidin, aminopyrine, ethyl alcohol, trichlorethylene, a barbiturate, quinine, ergotamine tartrate and caffeine: An analysis of their relation to the pain experience. J Clin Invest 20:63–80
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lukas, S.E., Mendelson, J.H. & Benedikt, R.A. Instrumental analysis of ethanol-induced intoxication in human males. Psychopharmacology 89, 8–13 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175181
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175181