ABSTRACT
Initial self-administration of high doses of EtOH is shown to be associated in some inbred rat strains with the eventual development of a low preference for EtOH, presumably as a consequence of taste aversion learning occurring during initial intake. Only modest support was obtained for the hypothesis that strain differences in the aversiveness of EtOH affects taste aversion learning. The instrinsic palatability of EtOH and the salience of EtOH as a conditioned stimulus may also affect EtOH preference, but there do not appear to be differences among strains in their general ability to form taste-toxicosis associations.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/psychology , Ethanol/administration & dosage , Self Administration/psychology , Alcohol Drinking/therapy , Animals , Aversive Therapy , Conditioning, Psychological , Learning , Male , Rats , Rats, Inbred Strains , Species Specificity , TasteABSTRACT
The affective correlates of alcohol and cocaine use were investigated in two studies. In the first, alcoholics (n = 50) and cocaine addicts (n = 40) were administered factor scales from the Inventory of Drinking Situations as well as the General Temperament Survey. Substance use in negative affect states was reported more often by alcoholics than by cocaine addicts, even when age and race differences were statistically controlled. Alcoholics also reported higher levels of negative temperament, and substance use in negative affect states was correlated with negative temperament across groups. In a study using subjects dependent on both drugs (n = 21), alcohol was more likely to be used in negative affect situations than was cocaine. Thus, the affective correlates of substance use are associated with both individual differences and drug-specific effects. Possible reasons for the differential association of alcohol with negative affect are proposed.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/psychology , Cocaine , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Adult , Alcoholism/rehabilitation , Arousal , Hospitalization , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Rehabilitation Centers , Research Design , Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Substance-Related Disorders/rehabilitation , TemperamentABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Life stressors and coping style have been associated with alterations in cellular immunity similar to those seen in HIV-1 infection. The interval between infection with HIV-1 and the development of AIDS is lengthy and highly variable. This pilot study investigated whether life stressors and coping style may account for a portion of this variation. METHOD: A sample of eleven asymptomatic HIV-1 seropositive homosexual male volunteers responding to a local advertisement was assessed on life stressors, coping style and cellular phenotypic and functional immune measures--T4 "helper" cell/T8 "suppressor" cell ratio, T4 cell count, total lymphocyte count, and natural killer cell cytotoxicity. RESULTS: Significant associations were observed for both major life stressor impact over the previous year and passive coping style use with the total lymphocyte count; higher life stressor impact and passive coping style use were associated with lower total lymphocyte counts. Similarly, a trend in the same direction was found for the relationship of these two measures with the count of T4 cells, which are directly infected and killed by HIV-1. CONCLUSIONS: It is well documented that decrements in T4 cell and total lymphocyte counts are powerful predictors of subsequent clinical progression to AIDS. These preliminary findings suggest that life stressors and coping style may also be predictors of the development of AIDS.
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/immunology , Adaptation, Psychological , HIV Seropositivity/immunology , Life Change Events , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/psychology , Adult , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Female , HIV Seropositivity/psychology , HIV-1/immunology , Homosexuality/psychology , Humans , Male , Pilot Projects , Prognosis , Stress, Psychological/immunology , Stress, Psychological/psychologyABSTRACT
Saccharin aversions were conditioned using ethanol (EtOH) in rats of different body weights. There was a nonuniform relation between EtOH dose (g/kg) and strength of conditioned taste aversion. Heavier rats learned stronger aversions at the same dose, and a weak dose (i.e., 1.0 g/kg) was effective only in heavier rats. It is suggested that rats be equated on body weight in studies of EtOH-induced taste aversion learning and in studies of EtOH preference.
Subject(s)
Avoidance Learning/drug effects , Body Weight/physiology , Ethanol/pharmacology , Analysis of Variance , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Male , Rats , Rats, Inbred WKY , Saccharin/administration & dosage , TasteABSTRACT
Male alcoholics (n = 336) were given the Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS), a 100-item questionnaire that asks subjects to rate the frequency with which they drank in various situations during the previous year. A principal components analysis of the responses suggests there are three major categories of situations in which alcoholics are likely to drink: negative affect states, positive affect states combined with social cues to drink, and attempts to test one's ability to control one's drinking. These categories are compared with recent empirical attempts to define categories of alcohol and smoking relapse.
